


The Deal

by JasonMorganfan87



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angry Sam, Crowley Being an Asshole, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, M/M, Protective Dean, Protective Sam, Sam hates Angels, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2018-10-08 14:44:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 27,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10389123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JasonMorganfan87/pseuds/JasonMorganfan87
Summary: After Dean is sent to Hell, Sam tries and fails multiple times to find a demon willing to trade his soul for his brothers.  Finally though, he finds a demon willing to deal.  After being tortured for what seems like an eternity, he is rescued and returned home, with all the knowledge of the apocalypse and no tolerance for anyone with wings.  How will all the players deal with a Sam Winchester that is unlike the man he was before he was sent to Hell?





	1. Chapter 1

It had been several weeks since Dean was sent to Hell. Since then, Sam had been doing everything in his power to bring him back, including summoning demon after demon. None of them would make any deals with him, for reasons he couldn't understand. What did it matter if he switched with Dean? They still got to torture a Winchester in Hell. Shouldn't that be all they cared about?

Sam wasn't giving up though, hence why he was at another crossroads summoning one last demon. If this one turned him down, he would use other means. Ruby had been bugging him for a while to work with her to harness his powers to go after Lilith. He was just reluctant to go that route because he promised Dean. But the hell with it. If it would save Dean, he'd do whatever it took. 

Sam stood back and waited for the next demon to show up. After about five minutes, he was about to give up, assuming that they had decided not to even bother answering him anymore. But then he heard a man with a British accent behind him.

“Five demons turn you down, yet you still don't give up.”

Sam turned around to see a dark haired, balding man with a beard, dressed in all black, standing several feet away from him. “I was beginning to think no one would come.”

“Yes, well, I told my people to hold off. I decided to handle this one personally,” the demon said.

“Your people?” Sam asked.

“Yes. I control the crossroads. The name's Crowley,” he said as he walked a few feet closer.

“You know what I want.”

“Yes, that was evident after the last five of my demons you killed,” Crowley said.

“Great. Swap me for my brother and you won't be number six,” Sam bargained.

Crowley chuckled. “Moose, I'm going to call you Moose, by the way. Has it ever occurred to you why no demon would make a deal with you?”

“Yeah, it has. I can only guess you guys hate Dean more than me,” Sam said.

“True, your brother certainly knows how to piss us off, but that's not why. You have no idea what you're a part of. Both of you actually. You've been a part of it since the moment that demon bled into your mouth,” Crowley said.

Sam flinched slightly. He didn't like thinking about what that demon had made him do as a baby. The idea of having drank demon blood made him sick every time he thought about it. And it unnerved him that someone else knew about, though he probably shouldn't be surprised. All demons probably knew about it. “That Boy King thing ended the moment Yellow Eyes died.

“Boy King? No, you were never meant to be the Boy King. The real plan just sort got jumbled up. It's like spreading a rumor. Eventually, the truth gets distorted and turned into something else. And the truth certainly didn't end with Azazel's death,” Crowley told him.

“What's the truth then?” Sam said.

“For another time. You never know when certain beings might be listening. The point I'm trying to make is that most demons won't make a deal with you. It'd be a death wish,” Crowley said.

“You said most,” Sam pointed out. 

“Now clearly you're the smart one, Moose. I might be willing to deal with you. See, as it turns out, I don't like the plan that's in store for you, for all of us. I kind of think it'll destroy all of us. I'm not into it. The problem is if I were to deal with you and put you on the rack, they'd yank you right off before the first knife started carving into your soul, and I'd become enemy number one. But there could be a way to get around that,” Crowley said.

“How's that?” Sam wondered. For the first time, he felt like he was finally getting somewhere. Yes, it would involve being tortured for eternity, but he felt that it couldn't be any worse than living with the knowledge that his brother was getting the same treatment because of him. 

“Hide you away and make you my own little play thing,” Crowley said with a smirk. It was a win-win as far as he was concerned. Not only did he stop the apocalypse before it even started, but he got his own Winchester to torture. 

“And you'd nullify Dean's contract in return? But I was told his contract lies with Lilith,” Sam said.

“Well, yes, it did while his heart was still beating, but there's no reason for her to hold it now that it's been fulfilled. Now it lies with every other contract, and those lie with me. So, yes, I could destroy his contract,” Crowley explained.

“How much time would I have?” Sam asked.

“None,” Crowley said bluntly. “As soon as we seal the deal, you're mine. Then I place your contract in a hole somewhere so no one can ever find out that I made it.”

Sam shook his head. “No, I have to see Dean at least once.”

Crowley sighed dramatically. “Have you not been listening, Moose? This deal is the most delicate any demon has ever made. If anyone finds out about it before it can be completely fulfilled, all bets are off. And the second Dean Winchester is topside, they will know something is off.”

“Who's they? Demons?” Sam asked. He really didn't know what this was about. Why was this demon so worried about making a deal with him.

“Among other things. Now, let's make this quick before someone figures out what is going on, shall we. The deal is as follows: I destroy your brother's contract and put him back in his body. In return, your soul is forfeited to me immediately. Any questions?” Crowley asked impatiently.

“Dean will try to make another deal when he realizes what happened. Will you be able to stop it?” Sam asked. 

“You know, for someone who is supposed to have brains, you don't listen well. As I said, your contract is going into a hole, where no one will be able to find it if I can help it. If they can't find the contract, they can't void it with another deal. Now, do we have a deal?” Crowley asked.

Sam suppressed a shudder. He honestly couldn't say he wasn't scared. He was about to give himself over to a demon. There didn't seem to be any worse fate. But Dean had done it for him. He should have been left dead. Dean on the other hand, had his whole life ahead of him. He should get to live it. “Yeah, Deal.”

“I think you know what comes next,” Crowley said before invading the hunter's personal space and kissing him on the lips for several seconds. Once he was done, he let out a loud whistle.

The next thing Sam heard was a growl. Having witnessed Dean's death, he knew exactly what it was. Hell hounds. Sam closed his eyes and waited. It wasn't long before one pounced on him and he let out a loud scream.


	2. Chapter 2

Dean was standing in the middle of his brother's motel room in Colorado. It had been about a day and a half since he came back from Hell. He'd immediately went to Bobby's, and after proving to the old hunter that it was really him, they set out to find Sam. Unfortunately, all they found was an empty motel room. Sam's things were there, but he wasn't. 

Bobby walked into the room a second later. “I talked to the motel manager. No one saw Sam yesterday or so far today. The guy thinks Sam stiffed him.”

“Damn it! He must of done something, Bobby. He made a deal,” Dean said with a shudder. He damn well didn't want this! He made his deal in the first place to save Sam's life. The last thing he wanted was for his brother to throw that away for him now. 

“Not necessarily. He might have gotten caught up in a hunt,” Bobby said it. Even as he said the words, they didn't ring true. 

Just then, a young woman with long, dark hair walked into the room. “Hey, where have you...?” she cut off as she got a look at the two occupants and looked at them in shock. 

“Who the hell are you?” Dean asked as he took out his knife. He would've been inclined to believe that she was just a girl his brother picked up, but she was looking at him like she'd seen a ghost.

“This is impossible! How are you here?!” the woman asked Dean in shock.

“Answer me! Who the hell are you?” Dean demanded as he advanced on her. 

“Let's just say that I tried to help you, but you and your brother were too stupid to take me up on it until it was too late. As a result, you got turned into a chew toy.” she said.

“Ruby,” Dean said with a growl. “Where is my brother?!”

“I don't know. I was supposed to meet him here, but he wasn't here when I got here,” Ruby said, trying not to show the true worry she felt, not for Sam, but for what Dean being here meant. This wasn't supposed to happen. Yes, Dean was eventually supposed to get out of Hell, but not yet. He hadn't spilled any blood yet.

“He obviously made a deal. Did you tell him to do that? Did you set it up with one of your demon friends,” Dean asked angrily.

Ruby shook her head. “No, he couldn't have made a deal. No demon would make a deal with him!”

Dean narrowed his eyes at her. “Why's that?”

Ruby realized her slip up and went right into recovery mode. “Because demons don't usually make deals to void other deals. It pisses the demons who made those deals off. Plus it doesn't increase sales. All it does is take the place of another sale. That's not good for business.”

“Business, huh?” Bobby asked dryly.

Dean wasn't sure he bought Ruby's explanation, but that was mainly because she was a demon and he didn't trust anything out of any demon's mouth. 

“I'm gonna try his cell again,” Bobby said before taking out his phone and dialing Sam's number.

“Why did Sam wanna meet you?” Dean asked Ruby.

“Probably to find some other way to bring you back,” Ruby said. That was another reason this happening so soon was bad. She'd planned to use saving Dean as an excuse to get Sam hooked on Demon blood, but since that wasn't needed, she didn't have a way. This was just bad all around.

“Who's this?” Bobby suddenly asked to whoever was on the other line of the phone. “Yeah, he's my nephew. Wh...what?”

“Bobby?” Dean called. 

Bobby looked stricken as he hung up the phone. “Sam's phone was found on a body. His alias' ID was also found on him.”

“No!” Dean choked out. 

“The cops said it looked like a vicious dog attack,” Bobby said as he tried to keep his voice from cracking. 

“Hell hounds,” Ruby whispered in horror. She didn't get it. How could this be possible? No demon would be stupid enough to make that deal. It would be an instant death sentence. While most demons didn't know exactly what was planned for Sam, they did know he was off limits as far as deals went. Lilith would have the head of any demon that went against it. 

Dean bolted from the room, followed closely by Bobby.

Ruby also decided to leave. She needed to get to Lilith and inform her of what had happened.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxx

 

Sam let out a loud scream as a knife carved into his shoulder. He was chained to a table in a dark room in Hell being tortured by Crowley. It was a daily occurrence, and it had been a lot of days, weeks actually. Crowley had told him it had only been a day or two on Earth, but time moved much quicker in Hell.

“Where were we?” Crowley asked. “Oh, yes, I was telling you about the pastimes of Lucifer and Michael. Lucifer was annoyed that God had made mankind, so he rebelled and declared war on Daddy dearest.”

“I've read the Bible!” Sam ground out.

“Yes, I'm sure, but you probably didn't pay so much attention, thinking a lot of it was rubbish. It's all true though. Now, once Lucifer lost his war, he was cast down to Earth. But he did some very bad, and yet extremely fun, things down there and eventually got cast into a brand new home. A very elaborate cage with many locks in the center of this lovely place,” Crowley said as he cut into the area where Sam's heart would be if he were still alive.

Sam screamed again. “What's the point of this history lesson!”

“Patience, Moose. We have eternity, remember? Now, not long after all this, the future apocalypse was revealed, one where Lucifer would be released and I fight would ensue between him and the Archangel, Michael, one that would lead either to Paradise or destruction. Actually, it's probably a bit of both. But as you said, you read the bible. You know all of this,” Crowley said before putting his knife down.

Sam wasn't naive enough to think it was over, especially since he'd been through it many, many times before. And he was right. Seconds later, he watched as Crowley picked up a bone saw and went for his hand. Sam knew he'd be healed whenever Crowley finished with him for the moment, because that was part of the sick game, but that didn't make him feel any better. “No!”

Crowley paid the hunter no mind as he started cutting his fingers off one by one, taking great pleasure from each one of his screams. “With each passing moment, we get closer and closer to that point.”

“What point?” Sam asked through screams. He'd forgotten what they were talking about for a second do to the sheer amount of pain. 

“The apocalypse. Several steps have been taken to insure it,” Crowley said before moving on to Sam's other hand.

“Like what?” Sam asked before screaming once more as his left thumb was cut off.

“Well, for instance, making sure a righteous man is sent to Hell,” Crowley said.

“D...Dean?” Sam asked. He knew it wasn't him. He wasn't supposed to be here, and the only other reason Crowley would have to bring it up is if it were Dean.

“Hmm,” Crowley confirmed before swiftly moving through the remainder of Sam's fingers. 

It was a while before Sam could do anything besides yell out in pain. “Why? Why did they want Dean here, and who are they? Demons?”

“Perhaps we'll discuss that next time. There really is no rush, is there? For now, we'll have to end things here. You should be grateful. Most souls don't get the sort of breaks you do. I wish I could devote more attention to you, but I do have other duties, so we'll have to continue along the way we have,” Crowley said before healing Sam's wounds with a wave of the hand.

Sam took several deep breaths and wondered how the hell he was going to do this. He was so screwed. He wouldn't even be able to escape in death because he was already dead.


	3. Chapter 3

Bobby and Dean made it back to Bobby's later that night, separately as Dean managed to get his car back. It had been impounded after found not far from Sam's body. Dean had managed to keep it together, despite the fact his brother's body currently laid in his trunk, though he didn't know how. No, actually he did know how. It was because he was going to fix it. He was going back to Hell and Sam was coming out, and he was going to make sure Sam could never pull this swap again.

Bobby got out of his truck and met Dean by the Impala. “We gotta do this the right way, Dean. We send him out the hunter way.”

“I said no,” Dean said gruffly. Bobby already tried to get him to do that before they left Colorado. He'd refused, and Bobby damn well knew why.

“Dean, don't do this,” Bobby pleaded. He'd already grieved for Dean once and now he had to do it with Sam. He couldn't take the continued back and forth. It was time to just end it and try to pick up their lives. No more deals.

“You know what I'm gonna do,” Dean said.

Bobby shook his head in frustration. “So you make another deal. Then he makes another deal if they let him and the cycle just continues!”

“No, that won't...”

“Damn it, Dean, this has stop now! You two idjits are going to kill me!” Bobby yelled.

“You don't know what it's like!” Dean yelled back. “Hell isn't even an accurate name for it! I can't leave him there!”

“You said you couldn't remember,” Bobby said after a couple of moments of silence. 

“I lied! I didn't want you to ask for details. It was terrible, Bobby. Think of the worst torture you've even endured, multiply it by a thousand, and imagine it never ends. That might give you a flicker. Oh, and by the way, time moves differently down there. So Sam hasn't been down there for two days. He's been there for weeks. I won't leave him there,” Dean choked. He couldn't let his little brother go through what he did, spending every single moment of eternity being tortured in the worst ways possible, especially not for him. No, he was going to save Sam. No one would stop him.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxx

 

Later, Dean was waiting by a crossroads. He'd summoned the demon and now he just had to wait. He'd have Sammy out of the pit soon, not soon enough of course. His brother had already been in Hell way too long. He didn't even want to think about what Sammy had been through the weeks he'd been down there. Actually, he didn't have to think about it. He already knew.

Dean soon heard footsteps and turned around. He was faced with a woman with shoulder length dark brown hair. 

“Dean Winchester. You're a bit far from home now, aren't you? I thought you took up a new residence,” she said with a smirk.

“Send me back then, just bring my brother back first,” Dean said without missing a beat. 

The demon laughed. “You think you and your brother can just keep screwing with us? Swapping in and out for the rest of your lives? It doesn't work that way.”

“I'm the one that made the original deal. I'm the one that should be in Hell. Bring Sam back, and none of you assholes make anymore deals with him,” Dean growled.

“Now why should I do that? We have a Winchester in Hell. Why would he swap him out for you,” she asked with a smirk, clearly toying with him.

“Good God damned question! Why did you do it?! You had me! Why the hell would make a deal with my brother. The way I heard it, you don't void deals with deals. Something about bad business. That's why so many turned him down in the first place. So why did you bastards finally deal with him. What else did he offer?” Dean asked. He had to know so he could find a way to counter. He would give whatever he could to bring Sam back.

“Oh, so you wanna double his offer. Maybe we have what we want,” she said.

“You wouldn't be here if you did,” Dean said. He was sure this demon wanted something he could give in place of his brother. She wouldn't have come otherwise.

“I came because I knew you'd just keep summoning us if I didn't, and a few would be too stupid to realize that coming might be a death wish. The truth is, I'd make a deal with you in a second because this wasn't supposed to happen. But the reason it wasn't supposed to happen has nothing to do with bad business. It's true, we don't make deals to replace other deals usually, but that's not why your brother was refused. He was refused because upper management black balled him. The truth is, they want you there and not him,” the demon said. 

Dean didn't bother asking why. He couldn't deny being curious, but in the end, it didn't matter. All he cared about was bringing Sam back. “Then switch us back!”

“It's not that easy! Trust me, when we found out your brother was in Hell, that was plan. Wait for you to be stupid and make another deal. That's what Lilith wanted. But we can't bring back what we don't have.”

“What do you mean? Are you saying Sam's not in Hell? That he didn't make a deal?” Dean asked. That didn't make sense. Sam had been killed by an animal, likely Hell hounds, and Dean was back in the land of the living. Sam must have made a deal.

“Oh, no, he made a deal. From what we know, that's pretty obvious. But whoever made that deal is going out of their way to hide both his contract and his soul,” she explained.

“You're saying he's not on the rack?” Dean asked. He wasn't sure that was a good thing or a bad thing. The rack was the worst thing he'd ever felt. But who knew what other tortures were down in that place?

“No. Lilith searched for his soul herself. He's not there. You have no idea the scrutiny we're under right now. Lilith is pissed at my boss and my boss is pissed at us because one of us made a deal we shouldn't of and he's facing Lilith's wrath because of it,” the demon said.

“Oh, so sorry, sweetheart,” Dean said sarcastically. “If Sam's not on the rack, where would he be?” Dean asked.

“If I knew that, we would've already snagged his soul by now, and you and I would be making a deal right now. Hell, you might already be back on the rack where you belong. We have no idea where his soul is, and without it, we can do nothing,” she explained.

“No!” Dean yelled before grabbing her by the shirt and sticking the demon knife to her throat. “You're gonna bring him back, now!”

“What part of we can't don't you understand?!” she asked before shoving him away. He landed a good ten feet away from her. “In order to void his contract, we need to find it, or at least his soul. We can't find either. So sorry, but your brother's screwed and so are you,” she said with a smirk before disappearing.

Dean just laid there for a minute, absolutely devastated. This was supposed to be simple, as simple as a demon deal could be anyway. He'd just swap himself back for Sam and that would be it. If necessary, he would tear through as many demons as he had to, just as Sam did. But what good was that demons couldn't even find him and bring him back. What hope was left if even they couldn't get to him in Hell.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

 

The Archangel, Michael stood in his office with his brother, Raphael, and a seraph Raphael trusted, Zachariah. Michael was livid. He'd received news that his vessel was out of Hell long before he was meant to be and Lucifer's vessel now resided there. “How did you allow this to happen?!”

“We allowed nothing, Michael. Everything was going according to plan,” Raphael said.

“Sam Winchester is in Hell and Dean Winchester is not! That is not according to plan!” Michael yelled. 

“Sir, the stage had been set. Dean Winchester was in Hell and his abomination of a brother was under the influence of demon scum. We had no reason to think something like this could happen,” Zachariah said. 

“It was the demons who screwed up, not us,” Raphael added. “Look, Michael, we can still fix it. We'll send a team in to retrieve the younger Winchester's soul.”

“That hardly solves the problem. Dean Winchester will still be on Earth, therefore unable to break the first seal. Nothing else we do matters if that seal remains intact,” Michael said.

“It might set us back a bit, but we can still figure out a way to get him back to Hell and put the plan back into motion,” Zachariah tried to appease. 

Michael nodded. “I suppose there must be some reason I can't see for us to be derailed temporarily.” He was sure there was because everything happened for a reason. Free Will didn't exist. So he would accept this setback, but that didn't mean he was giving up. The apocalypse was meant to happen. He was sure of that. “Alright, do it. And I also what an angel sent down to Dean Winchester, like we had planned. I want Heaven in his ear.”

“It will be done, sir,” Zachariah said before quickly exiting the room.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been years, that much Sam knew. He didn't know exactly how many because you couldn't really keep track of time while strapped to a table in a small room in Hell, but occasionally, Crowley would clue him into how long it had been. Other times, he just let Sam wonder. The last time he told him had been quite a while ago and it had been three years.

The years had been pure agony for Sam. You'd think that it would get easier over time, but it didn't. The only thing that really improved is that Sam had stopped screaming. There was really no point in screaming. No one who could hear would ever help him and his screams made any difference to Crowley. So he learned to stop. 

Sam's thoughts were soon interrupted as his tormentor entered the room. Sam did his best to get ready for the agony he knew was coming.

“Hello, Moose. It's been quite a while, hasn't it? Sorry about that. I didn't mean to neglect you, but things are a bit complicated right now. Everyone is up in arms about a demon going rogue and making a deal with the youngest Winchester. I've had to assure Lilith that I'd grilled every single one of my demons and had no idea which one of them had made such a foolish agreement,” Crowley said with a smirk. Yes, he took a lot of pleasure in getting one over on Lilith, the strongest demon to ever exist. She had no clue that he was the one that had Sam Winchester's soul tucked away. 

“Why does she even care?” Sam asked.

Crowley raised an eyebrow. “Haven't I explained that?”

“No. You've toyed with me with some snippets about the apocalypse and my brother being some righteous man that needed to be in Hell,” Sam bit out. He'd tried to get more information out of the demon over the years, but it never worked. He'd either say they had all the time in the world for that or remained silent while he tortured him. Same began to think it was just a huge mind game.

“Oh, right,” Crowley waved his hands. A table with a bunch of torture weapons appeared. He picked up a large fire poker. “I thought we'd start with one of your favorites.”

Sam got ready for the immense pain he was sure to feel. It didn't take long. As soon as the poker touched his skin, he felt the severe burning sensation and winced in pain.

Crowley left the poker on Sam's left shoulder blade until the spot turned black, then he moved onto another area. “Right, so you said I left off with righteous man, right? Well, he is a key element in unlocking Lucifer from his lovely cage. His duty is y undo the first lock by spilling blood in Hell. By that I mean, torturing souls himself.”

Sam had to fight through the pain to understand the implications of what he was being told. It was a little hard to think straight when you were being tortured. “No. Dean wouldn't do that.”

Crowley laughed. “Moose, you've been here for nearly ten years now. You really don't think you'd consider it if it made it all stop?” He dragged the poker down Sam's torso as if to prove his point. “Everyone breaks down here eventually.”

“Not Dean,” Sam said.

“Well, you're right in a sense. He didn't break at the point he was released from Hell. That's why people are so pissed off. That, and like I said, you weren't supposed to ever be here,” Crowley said before putting the fire poker down and picking up a small taser, which he promptly pressed into Sam's side.

Sam convulsed and whimpered as electricity ran through him. 

Crowley did the same to his other side and received the same results. “I must say, I almost miss your screams. They did sound wonderful. So after your brother broke the first seal, a team of angels would be sent to remove his soul from Hell and put it back in his body.”

Sam looked up at Crowley surprised. “He would've gotten out?”

Crowley laughed cruelly. “Oh, yes, Moose. You sold your soul for nothing.”

“How long would he have been here?” Sam asked.

“There's no way to be sure. Maybe a few months up there.”

“Which means decades down here. Then it was worth it,” Sam said. He would never be able to justify leaving his brother in Hell that long, especially now that he knew exactly what it was like. 

“I'm not sure why they chose you, Moose. I don't know how a bleeding heart such as yourself would be able to pull off what they wanted,” Crowley said as he picked up a knife and started carving into the hunter's chest.”

“Chose me for what?” Sam choked out.

“Well, it goes back to when that lovely demon bled into your little mouth. He set the course for you then. A touch of his blood even now is tied to you,” Crowley said.

“It...It doesn't affect me,” Sam said, though he wasn't as sure as he tried to be. From the moment he found out about it, he wondered if it affected him, made him less than human and less than good. He'd seen how a lot of the other children the demon went after turned out.

Crowley laughed. “Maybe, maybe not, but they planned to make it affect you. How you were when your brother went to Hell, they were going to exploit that. Use it to make you do things you normally wouldn't. They already started trying.”

“What are you taking about. No one tried to make me do anything,” Sam said before feeling the pain of a knife being stuck right into his right shoulder. It went so far down that it pinned his shoulder to the table.

“No? There isn't a demon following you around like a puppy?” Crowley asked.

“R...Ruby?” Sam asked after a minute.

“That one's always been treacherous. She betrayed demons for you, right? Or so she'd have you believe,” Crowley said before pinning his other shoulder with a knife.

Sam started breathing heavily as he tried to make pain fade just a little. “Demons are h...hunting her.”

“Of course they are. Most demons do believe she's a traitor, but in truth, she works for Lilith,” Crowley said. He wasn't technically supposed to have that information, but there was a lot of information he wasn't supposed to have. He prided himself with gaining information that most were ignorant of. “Her job was to influence you, convince you that the only way to save your brother was through the demon blood abilities you acquired, and the only to do that was to drink copious amounts of demon blood.”

Sam felt sick just at the thought of it and immediately went to deny that he'd ever do such a thing, but after thinking about it, he realized that he would. If he hadn't made the deal with Crowley and it was the only way to save Dean, he'd do it in a heartbeat, especially with Ruby there to dress it up. He also realized Crowley was probably right about Ruby. He remembered her telling him how his abilities were the only way to save Dean. Plus, she was a demon. That was reason enough to not trust her. “What would be the point of that?”

“Well, aside from the fact that demon blood is addicting and influencing, the ultimate goal was to get you to kill Lilith. See, she is the final seal on Lucifer's cage. Her death would release him,” Crowley said before yanking both knives from Sam's shoulders.

This time, Sam did scream. “Wh...where are these a...angels while this is happening?”

“Waiting, of course, and making sure you idiots don't stop it,” Crowley said.

Sam looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. These were angels. How could they just watch while the Devil was released from Hell. “No. You're screwing with me.”

Crowley chuckled. “You think angels are the way they're portrayed in movies? Not even close, Moose. They are for themselves and their God. They want the apocalypse to happen. They want supposed paradise and they don't care how many they need to stomp on to get in their way.”

“So they'll let it happen?”

“Let it? They'll help it along. They're attempting it now, trying to get you out of here and your brother back in to break that first seal. Then they'll stick to him like glue while trying to push you as far to the dark side as possible, driving a wedge between you and your brother until that wedge is permanent. Oh, and if you think it's over once Lucifer is released, think again. It doesn't end there. See, angels can't be on Earth in their true form. Like us, they need a host. With archangels, it's even more complicated than that. They need a specific host. For instance, brothers Michael and Lucifer need two brothers. Michael would take the older and Lucifer the younger,” Crowley explained.

Sam wished he could claim that he didn't know what Crowley was telling him, but he did. He was telling him that he and Dean were supposed to take these angels in their bodies. It was there hands that were supposed to end the world, but worse was that they were supposed to kill each other. And angels were okay with that. They were the ones doing this to them. How could they? Angels were supposed to help protect the world, not try to end it

Sam felt a level of betrayal knowing that beings he used to pray to were such cold SOBs. That was of course granting that Crowley was telling the truth, but Sam couldn't think of a reason for him to lie. Yes, he was a demon, but there was no purpose in such an elaborate lie. It had to be true. This was what these beings were actually trying to do. Well, he wouldn't let them. Even if somehow angels managed to free him, he would be damned if he allowed them to get their way. Angels and demons could both go screw themselves. This was not going to happen.


	5. Chapter 5

Dean walked into his motel room after finishing up a hunt. Six months had gone by since Sam took his place in Hell. He hadn't given up on his brother. He would never give up, but there was very little he could do sitting at Bobby's. After three months of researching everything he could on Hell and possible ways in and out, plus the numerous demons he summoned that also told him there was no hope, Bobby convinced him to go hunting again. He agreed after a little arguing, only because he knew there were a bunch of angels picking up the slack.

Angels had come into his life right after Sam went to Hell. He was reluctant about them at first, but Cas seemed like a good guy, if not really uptight and completely innocent. He still didn't completely trust him or any other angel, but he did believe that they all wanted to bring Sam back, so it was enough.

Dean had just gotten his coat off when Castiel appeared directly in front of him. “Dude, I told you not to do that!”

“What should I do then?” Castiel asked. 

“Knock!” Dean exclaimed as if it were obvious.

“I have no need for doors,” Castiel said.

Dean sighed. “Tell me you're here because you found my brother.”

“We are still searching Hell for him,” Castiel said.

“It's been six freaking months, Cas! How long does it take. You're angels!” Dean said in frustration. The longer this took, the more angry he got. His brother was in the pit suffering.

“Hell is a big place, Dean, bigger than Earth. Plus, demons don't make easier for us down there. They are not fond of us,” Castiel told him.

“Six months, Cas. You know how long that is for Sam? Dean asked.

“Roughly sixty years,” Castiel responded as though he was answering a normal question. 

“Yeah! My brother's been tortured day after day for sixty God damned years. Do you know what that's like?! You have any clue what it means to be in that hell hole?!” Dean asked loudly. He was terrified for his brother. He knew exactly what Sam was going through right now. He almost wished he didn't know. If he didn't know, he could pretend it wasn't so bad. But he did. 

“We're doing what we can. We don't want him there anymore than you do,” Castiel said.

“Yeah? Why is that? Why do you care if Sam's in Hell?” Dean asked. 

“I told you that already.”

“Right, because it's what God wanted, but why?” Dean asked.

“We don't ask questions. We do as we are told. My superiors ordered us to release him. That is all I know,” Castiel told him.

“Demons don't want him there either. Some demon went rogue and is holding my brother somewhere that even you can't hide him. Why? Why would some demon risk himself like that? And why don't they want him there?” Dean asked. He'd asked that last one several times, mostly to the demons he summoned, but they claimed not to know.

“I do not have the answers to those questions,” 

Dean huffed and sat down on his bed. “Shouldn't you know these things? You're an angel.”

“I know what I'm told,” Castiel said simply.

Dean was silent for a few moments and then looked back up at Cas and asked the question he'd been trying not to ask. “You're gonna give up soon, aren't you?” 

“Angels don't give up, Dean,” Castiel told him.

“You better not, and I swear, if you don't find him soon, I will storm Hell myself. No if there's nothing else, get out of here. I wanna go to bed,” Dean lied. The truth was, he rarely slept. When he didn't dream of his own time in Hell, he dreamed of what it was probably like there for his brother. But he didn't want to talk anymore either.

Without a word, Castiel was gone.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxx

 

Gabriel walked through Hell searching for Sam Winchester's soul. He'd found out not long after Sam made his deal that it had happened. After about a month of trying to decide what to do about it, he decided he couldn't let the hunter stay in Hell. 

Gabriel was well aware that by doing this, he might be playing into his brothers' hands, allowing them to put the apocalypse back on track. That's why it took him a month to make the decision to save Sam, but he just couldn't leave him there, not because his brothers were dicks. Sam didn't belong in Hell. Yes, he made a deal, and in most cases, Gabriel would leave him to reap what he sowed, but Sam hadn't made the original deal. That was Dean. It was all on him. Or at least, that's the reason Gabriel told himself made him so compelled to save Sam. 

Gabriel had spent the last five months figuring out how to find Sam. He wasn't like his brothers. He wasn't going to storm the place and hope he got lucky. He was more patient than that. He gathered a list of demons that might have the balls to do something like this. When he found the one he believed was responsible, it became easy. As an archangel, he was capable of following a demon without detection. That was why he currently stood outside a room in Hell that Crowley had just entered.

Gabriel blasted through the room seconds later, just as Crowley was about to cut into Sam's soul. He proceeded to shove his Grace at the demon, so he'd know exactly who he was dealing with.

“Bollocks,” Crowley muttered. He knew the second the impressive Grace hit him that he was in trouble. Not only was he dealing with an angel, he was dealing with the most powerful angels to ever exist. He was not stupid enough to believe he was any match for this being, so he did the only thing he could think of. He fled.

Gabriel let him go. While there was a lot of things he'd like to do to Crowley for what he'd done, there would always be time for that later. Getting Sam's soul back into his body was what mattered now. He wanted to get in and get Sam out without drawing attention from other demons or possibly one of his brothers that were crawling around. “Hey, Sammy. Been a while.”

Sam was shocked. The last thing he expected was for the Trickster to come to his rescue, and he also didn't expect for Crowley to be so scared of him that he'd take off. “What the hell?”

“Pun intended or no?” Gabriel joked as he made his way over. 

“Why are you here?” Sam asked.

“Why do you think? I'm here to get your stupid ass out of here. Making a deal, Sammy? You really thought that was a smart move?” Gabriel asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

“Go screw yourself. I'm not gonna justify my decisions to you,” Sam snarled. 

“A little snippy, aren't we?” Gabriel asked.

“I've been in Hell for sixty years. I have a right to be 'snippy'. Plus, I don't like you. Why would you help me. What do you get out of it?” Sam asked distrustfully.

“Later, kid. We need to amscray before the wrong person finds us.”

“Get out of here. I don't want your help,” Sam said. He didn't trust the Trickster. If he was helping, he wanted something. That, or he was involved with the whole apocalypse thing. Either way, Sam didn't want his help.

“Too bad. You're getting it anyway. Now, just to warn you, this won't feel so good. Putting a soul back in a body isn't the most pleasant thing in the world. The good part is though, you won't remember it when you wake up in your body,” Gabriel said before grabbing him and flying away.


	6. Chapter 6

Sam's eyes shot open and he started gasping for air. He sat up, but before he could even register what was going on, some water was shoved in his face. He immediately yanked it out of the hands giving it to him and drank the whole thing in a couple of gulps. 

“Welcome back, Sammy. Eat this,” Gabriel instructed as he handed him a plate with a sandwich. 

Sam usually would've been skeptical of eating anything given to him by someone like the Trickster, but right now, he didn't care. He'd never felt so hungry in his life, so he took it and ate in a few seconds.

“A bit overwhelming coming back from the dead, huh? Hey, but at least it was better than it was for your brother. I'd guess he woke up in a coffin a few feet under,” Gabriel said. 

Having his physical needs somewhat met, Sam stood up and looked at his surroundings. He was standing in the middle of a spacious living room. There was a dark green couch and love seat that looked next to pristine and a flat screen TV and across from the couch. A much different environment than he was used to lately. “Where are we?” 

“Ames Iowa,” Gabriel told him.

Sam was quiet for a few moments and then spoke a single word. “Why?”

“Little more specific, kiddo. There's a lot of things that question could pertain to,” Gabriel said. Of course he knew exactly what the hunter was asking.

Sam glared at him. “You know damn well what I'm asking you! Why did you pull me out of Hell.”

Gabriel shrugged. “I was bored.”

“Stop screwing with me! What is it you want?”

“I'll settle for a thank you,” Gabriel said. 

Sam could strangle the midget trickster. He knew the bastard wanted something. He didn't do this out of the goodness of his heart. He was either gunning for the apocalypse or something else, but he wanted something. He had to find out what it was. He would not spend the rest of his life wondering what he owed this guy. “Tell me what you want! Did someone put you up to this? Demons?”

Gabriel sighed dramatically. “You're so suspicious, Sammy. Can't you just accept that I wanted to do a good thing?” 

“No, not you,” Sam said with a glare. 

“Well, then I guess you're just going to accept that I had my reasons then and live without knowing what they are,” Gabriel said simply.

“I won't do it,” Sam said firmly. He was almost sure that the Trickster was on board for the apocalypse and he was not going to allow that to happen. “I will kill you and anyone else who thinks they can manipulate me.”

Gabriel frowned slightly. He could tell that Sam thought he knew what it was Gabriel wanted from him. He decided to take a little peek in the hunter's mind to find out what he was thinking. What he got were all things apocalypse. “Well, it seems someone's informed. A little birdie's been feeding you Intel. You know it all, don't you?”

Sam didn't answer, but he knew he didn't have to. The Trickster could obviously read his mind. Sam hadn't known he had that power, but he clearly did.

“You think I got you out of Hell because I wanna see this world go bye-bye? On the contrary. This world is awesome. I'm not too keen on it ending. I didn't pull you out of Hell so you could help end the world. No, that's why I considered leaving you there,” Gabriel told him.

“Why didn't you then?” Sam asked. 

“Well, for one, it wouldn't have mattered. Angels would've found you eventually. They would've kept tearing Hell apart until they did,” Gabriel said.

“Why not just let them? You had no reason to speed up the process,” Sam said.

Gabriel shrugged, making it clear that he wasn't going to answer.

“Fine, but let me just make it clear that I don't owe you anything! I didn't ask you to save me from Hell!” Sam said firmly before heading for the door. 

“Sam, wait,” Gabriel said. He waited for Sam to stop and turn around before going on. “You survived Hell, but that might just be a cake walk compared to what happens next. You wanna stop the apocalypse, but they're going to try to make it damn near impossible. They will do whatever it takes to put you back on the path to releasing Lucifer.”

“How do you know so much about this?” Sam asked suspiciously.

“I've been around a long time. There's not much about the world I don't know about,” Gabriel said. 

“Then tell me how to kill them. How do I kill an angel?” Sam asked. He didn't want to ask the Trickster for help with anything, especially since Sam was sure he'd try to collect for pulling him out of Hell, but if the Trickster could help him keep the apocalypse at bay, he had to take the risk.

Gabriel couldn't help but stiffen at the question. These were after all his brothers. They might be dicks, but they were his brothers. Plus, honestly, he was caught off-guard by Sam. It was so hard to believe the kid was willing to kill beings he'd been praying to even just six months ago. “You wanna kill angels?”

“Why not? They're no better than demons. Actually, they're worse. Angels are supposed to protect human life and this planet, but they want to end it. What makes them better than anything else I hunt. So if I have to protect myself and my brother by burning down every last one of them, so be it,” Sam said powerfully. He could honestly say there was no being he hated more than angels. He'd had sixty years to think about what those assholes had done to his family and what they still wanted to do to it and the world. They were supposed to be good and protect people, but they didn't give a damn about anyone. To them, humans were expendable because they were weaker than them. It was no different than demons, only demons owned up to what they were. So, no, Sam would have problems killing them if he had to

Gabriel was blown away by the coldness in this man's voice. This was not the same guy he'd met at that college, the kid that wore his heart on his sleeve. From that last sentence, Gabriel could tell that Sam was filled with hate and anger, and really, who could blame him? He had been tortured for sixty years, plus he felt betrayed by beings he thought were looking out for him. It wasn't really surprising that he'd hate angels when you really thought about it.

“So do you know how to kill them?” Sam asked asked.

“There are a couple of ways, but I'll only tell you if you agree to only use them if you have to,” Gabriel said. He didn't like giving Sam a way to possibly hurt his brothers, but if they went after him, they really had it coming.

“I've never gone after any being that didn't come after me or someone else first. I'm not sure why you care though,” Sam said.

“Because the people I go after are for the same reasons. Killing an angel wouldn't be easy. They are much stronger than you and could end you without a lot of effort. Luckily for you, killing you would be detrimental to their goals. An angel blade could kill them, but you'd either have to take one off of them or somehow get to the weaponry in Heaven. Neither are very likely. The other way is Holy fire. It touches them, it kills them. You can also use a ring of holy fire to trap them. You'd need to get your hands on holy oil,” Gabriel told him.

“Does that work for archangels too?” Sam asked, thinking about what would happen if Michael chose to get involved.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “That's a road you don't even want to attempt to go down. You cannot kill an archangel. You'd be dead before you even took two steps towards them.”

“Anything else?” Sam asked without commenting on the warning.

“Be careful. Oh, and your brother is in Madison Wisconsin finishing up a hunt. You should be able to make it before he leaves. There's a car out front you can take,” Gabriel said before snapping his fingers. A set of keys appeared in Sam's hand.

“Thanks, but just remember, I don't owe you anything,” Sam said before leaving without a word.


	7. Chapter 7

Dean had just finished packing the Impala and was about to get in the car when he saw a brand new BMW pulled up. It first caught his attention because no one who could afford such an expensive car should be caught dead in a place like this. But after a second it caught his attentions for another reason. He got a look at the driver. It was his brother, or at least he thought it was. He supposed his eyes could be playing tricks on him, but it really looked like Sam.

Dean felt his heart beat faster and faster as the car stopped next to his and the driver got out. It really was him. His brother was back. He was here, just a few feet away.

Dean knew that before anything else he should be sure that it was really Sam and not some thing playing games, but in that moment, he didn't care about what he should do. Instead, he rushed over and threw his arms around his little brother. “Sammy!”

Sam hugged his brother back, just as fiercely. It had been a long time since he'd seen his brother, since he'd watched as he was brutally killed and sent to Hell. It had been even longer for him than it had been for Dean. He needed to feel Dean just as much as Dean needed to feel him. 

It was several minutes before Dean pulled away. Without a word, he pulled Sam towards his motel room. He unlocked the door and the two of them walked inside. Once inside, Dean closed and locked the door. Then he took out a silver knife and a container of holy water. He was thinking clearly enough to test his brother now. “I gotta be sure.”

“I'd do the same,” Sam said before taking the knife and slicing into his hand. He noted silently that it didn't hurt as much as before. He supposed after sixty years of being torn apart over and over again, a simple cut of his palm meant nothing.

Dean nodded and handed him the holy water. 

Sam took a swig and gave it back.

Dean relaxed. It was true. It was really him. It wasn't some piece of garbage pretending to be Sam. It was him. “My God, Sammy, I'm so glad you're back.”

“That makes two of us,” Sam said before sitting down on the bed. 

“What the hell were you thinking, man?” Dean asked.

“The same thing you were. I have no regrets, Dean. I did what I had to,” Sam said firmly.

“You went to Hell,” Dean said.

“So did you,” Sam retorted. 

“I was doing my job! Protecting you is my responsibility. It's not for you to save me though, especially this way!” Dean said.

“Does this really matter now. It's over,” Sam said. He didn't want to fight about something that was done. He had enough fighting he was going to have to do when angels started showing up.

“Is it?” Dean asked. Yeah, Sam was out of Hell, but didn't mean everything was okay. It didn't mean Sam was okay. He'd spend sixty years in Hell. Dean had only spent ten and he wasn't over it. 

“I'm fine,” Sam said shortly, knowing exactly what his brother was asking. 

Dean sighed. From the way his brother answered, he knew he wasn't going to talk about it. Dean couldn't really say anything either. He didn't talk about Hell either. So for the moment, Dean decided to drop it. “So where'd you get the wheels? Neither of us have seen anything that nice up close and personal in our lives. I know you wouldn't steal something in our lives.” While they'd had to steal before, they didn't steal something so valuable. If Sam was going to steal a car, it would've been a rundown one.

“Let's just say it's a loaner,” Sam said. He certainly had no intentions of keeping it, even if that's what the Trickster had in mind. He didn't even like the help he'd had to take from the guy thus far, as he knew he'd come to collect one day. Sam would not add to that. “So what were you hunting?”

“A vamp next. Ganked every one last night. I just can't believe you're here. I talked to Cas last night and he said there was no news,” Dean said. 

“Who the hell is Cas?” Sam asked as he stood up. He had a feeling he knew though. Or he was pretty sure he knew what this Cas was anyway.

Before Dean could answer, Castiel appeared right behind Dean.

“Never mind. It seems I'm going to find out now,” Sam said tensely as he stared at the uptight looking man in the trench coat behind his brother. 

Dean turned to follow his brother's gaze and nearly fell over in surprise by the angel's sudden appearance. “Okay, there has gotta be a way for you to give me some kind of warning that you're coming.”

“Hello, Dean,” Castiel said simply. His eyes then veered to the younger Winchester, who was staring at him quite intensely. Castiel had learned a lot from observing Dean. He began to tell what he was feeling from his facial expressions. Sam looked similarly to the way Dean did when he was angry. Sam Winchester did not appear to be fond of him. 

“Sammy, this is Cas. He's an angel. I know it's pretty freaking hard to believe, but it seems you were right. They're real. Don't let being right once go to your head though,” Dean said with a grin. 

Sam didn't smile back. His gaze was still directed at the angel. He wished he could tell the bastard where to go. No, he wished he had some holy oil and a lighter so he could light him up. The only thing that stopped him from at least reaming the angel out was that he didn't want to tip his hand. He needed to think it through before he started letting his head get away from him. 

Dean quickly noticed his brother's face. “Dude, what's wrong? You're looking at him like he's a demon.”

“Your brother is probably skeptical, like you were at first,” Castiel said.

Dean wasn't sure that was it. Sam had always believed in angels. Although, he supposed having faith was different than actually seeing it. “Right. Look, Sam, I understand not believing it, especially in our line of work, but it's true, and they just did a good thing for us. They got you out of Hell. So stop looking at Cas like that.”

“The hell they did,” Sam said coldly.

“Your brother is correct. We did not retrieve his soul. We did feel that he'd been returned though,” Castiel said.

Dean turned to him surprised. “Well, if you guys didn't do it, who did?”

“That's why I came. I hoped Sam would tell me,” Castiel said.

“You hoped wrong,” Sam said bluntly. While he didn't feel he owed the Trickster anything, the man did pull him out of Hell, so he'd extend a courtesy and not sell him out to angels. 

“Dude, what's your problem?” Dean asked. He didn't normally see Sam like this. He was acting so cold and pissed. Dean hadn't expected that. When he first learned about angels, he thought about how Sam would react. He thought his brother would be happy and excited to meet an actual angel. But right now, he was acting like Cas was the worst thing they'd ever encountered.

“You think you could leave us alone?” Sam asked the angel sharply.

Castiel was gone within seconds. 

“What's wrong with you?” Dean asked. 

“You introduced me to a creature I know nothing about. How did you expect me to react?” Sam asked. Of course, he did know a lot about angels, but he wasn't ready to share that with Dean. He wasn't even sure Dean would believe him if he started talking about the apocalypse. Even if he did, he might try to confront his angel friend. Sam didn't want to risk that right now. 

“Dude, he's an angel. You've always believed in them. Don't you remember that case we worked where people said an angel was asking people to kill? You were all for it really being an angel, and you were happy about it,” Dean reminded him. 

“And I was wrong. Look, we don't know what these things are about. For all we know, they're dangerous. All we know is they're not human,” Sam said.

“Since when does that matter to you? You never cared about something not being human, as long as they weren't hurting people,” Dean said. He was beginning to think something was really wrong with his brother. He knew from the tests that it really was Sam, but he wondered if something changed him in Hell, or right after he got out. Whatever pulled him out might of done something. All Dean knew was that something wasn't right.

“And we don't know that they haven't hurt people. I'm just not gonna start trusting your new friend without knowing anything about him. Now can we get out of here?” Sam asked.

Dean decided to let things drop for now, but he was going to find out what was going on. He'd talk to Bobby about it when they got there. He'd find out what was up and fix it. “Alright, let's head to Bobby's. He'd be pissed if we didn't head over right away.

Sam nodded. He wanted to see Bobby. It had been a really long time. After that, he was going to get to work on eliminating any threat to his family and the world. And he would start with that bitch, Ruby.


	8. Chapter 8

Dean was with Bobby in his kitchen having a drink. Sam had headed up to bed a few minutes earlier. Honestly, Dean was tempted to follow him up. It was hard to let Sam out of his sight. He kept finding himself afraid that his younger brother would disappear.

“So what's up?” Bobby suddenly asked. “I've seen the way you kept looking at your brother all night.”

“Well, it has been a while since I got to look at him,” Dean pointed out. He knew Bobby would know it was more than that though.

“Yeah, but I get the feeling that's not what those looks were about,” Bobby said.

Dean nodded. “You're right, it's not. I'm worried about him, Bobby.”

“He just got back from Hell. I'd be surprised if you didn't worry about him,' Bobby said.

“Yeah, I would be worried anyway, but this is different. He's been weird since he got back. It's almost like it's not him,” Dean said.

Bobby narrowed his eyes a bit, taking Dean's words literally. “You said you tested him.”

“Yeah, I did. I didn't mean it physically. It is Sam. It's just that he seems different. Cas showed up at the motel room right after Sam. You should've seen the way Sam reacted. He wouldn't stop glaring at him, and when he spoke, he was cold and angry. It was like he thought Cas was evil,” Dean said.

“I assume this was after you explained what Cas is,” Bobby said. 

Dean nodded. “He seemed guarded a bit before that, but that was understandable. Once I told him, I thought he'd relax, maybe just ask Cas a bunch of questions, but he barely spoke to him, and like I said, he sounded pissed when he did.”

“What did he say about it afterwards?” Bobby asked. 

“He said he wasn't going to trust something he didn't know anything about,” Dean said.

“Well, that sounds reasonable. He's a hunter. Hunters don't naturally trust people they know nothing about, let alone supernatural creatures. Hell, you were more than a bit skeptical of the angel. You didn't even want to believe he really was an angel, and you certainly didn't believe his only motivation was to save Sam, like he said,” Bobby reminded him. Admittedly though, this was an odd reaction for Sam personally. While Sam was a hunter, he wasn't quite like the rest of them. He was much more open-minded. 

“Yeah, but this is Sam, Bobby. Sam isn't like me,” Dean argued. “He doesn't judge people because they're not necessarily human. He fought with me over a freaking vampire nest because they weren't killing people. I mean, I could understand why he wouldn't totally trust Cas, but six months ago, he wouldn't have reacted like he did today. He would've at least been polite. Hell, he would've been excited to know that angels were real.”

“Well, Dean, he just got out of Hell. Maybe you should give him a break. Let him get readjusted to life again,” Bobby said. 

“You think that's it?” Dean asked sounding skeptical. This seemed like more than just having to readjust. 

“I think all he's known for the last six months, sixty years for him, are demons and pain. Then he comes back and there's suddenly an angel by his brother's side. It's a little much, don't you think?” Bobby asked.

“So you think he just needs a few days to process?” Dean asked. He still wasn't sure, but he could sort of understand where Bobby was coming from. Sam had just come back from Hell and everything had changed. That couldn't be easy. Still, Dean couldn't help, but worry that it was more, maybe because he was still wondering about the thing that brought him back and why.

Honestly, Bobby wasn't so sure it was just a readjustment thing, but he was also sure Dean didn't want to hear what he did think, and that was that sixty years in Hell had left Sam scarred. It was possible that it changed him, hardened him. And if that was the case, it wasn't going to go away. “Just give him a little time.”

Dean nodded reluctantly and took a sip of his drink. He would listen to Bobby's advise for now, but he was going to be keeping a very close eye on his brother. And he was going to figure out what brought him back and what if anything it did to him.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxx

 

Sam stood in the middle of a park near Bobby's waiting. After telling Dean and Bobby that he was going to bed, he instead headed out unseen to meet Ruby. It was time to end that demon bitch once and for all.

Sam soon heard footsteps from behind him. He turned to see the brunette walking towards him. “Sam.”

“Ruby,” Sam greeted back evenly. 

“It's good to see you. I wasn't sure I ever would again. Since you sold your damned soul! What were you thinking?” Ruby asked.

“I did what I had to do,” was Sam's only response. 

“I told you there was another way to save your brother. I had a plan,” Ruby said. She was super pissed that Sam had ruined everything by selling his soul. She was the one that had to deal with Lilith's ire when she found out all their plans had gone up in smoke. 

“I'm sure you did.”

“Who did you sell your soul to anyway?” Ruby asked. Lilith seriously wanted the answer to that one. She wanted the head of whoever had gone against her wishes. Whoever did it was going to wish they'd never seen Sam Winchester. 

“It doesn't really matter, does it?” Sam asked.

“No, I guess not,” Ruby said. If she tried to press him on it, Sam might get suspicious. She couldn't have that. Getting Sam back on track was more important right now. “So, you and your brother are out of Hell, but it's not over. I think it's still important that we stop Lilith.”

“I agree, and I know exactly how to do that,” Sam said as he slowly took the demon knife out of his pocket and moved towards Ruby.

Ruby scoffed. “That thing won't stop Lilith. She's way too high on the totem pole. The only way to do it is to tap into your powers.” 

Sam kept walking towards Ruby until their faces were inches apart. “That's never going to happen.”

“Oh, Sam, get over this fear your brother instilled into you. Harnessing your powers isn't as big a deal as he wants to make it. Who cares where power comes from as long as you use it the right away? Don't let Dean hold you back,” Ruby said.

Sam grabbed her hard by the wrist. “You cannot manipulate me anymore! I now exactly what you want!”

“Wh...what do you mean?” Ruby asked genuinely nervous.

“Hell was very informative. I know what you want, but it's not gonna happen. I want no part of you, especially the evil crap in your veins. I won't be using it to kill Lilith. In fact, I won't be killing her at all. She's gonna live as long as I do. But you won't,” Sam said before plunging the knife into her chest and watching her die. He couldn't deny taking pleasure from it. He had a lot of time to think about everything she did, how he'd begun to trust her. All the while, she'd been planning to use him to end the world. She had it coming. 

“You work quick,” A male voice suddenly commented.

Sam quickly turned around and turned his knife on the newcomer. When he saw that it was the Trickster, he put it down, knowing it wouldn't do a thing to him. “If you're here for your car, it's back in Wyoming.”

“I know. You could've kept it,” Gabriel told him.

“I don't think so. What do you want? Are you following me?” Sam asked.

“Sort of, I suppose. I figured someone should keep an eye on you,” Gabriel said. He'd actually been keeping an eye out since Sam left his place. He was even there when Sam met Castiel, making sure to hide his grace from his younger brother. 

“Why?

Instead of answering, Gabriel changed the subject. “You do realize with her little henchwoman dead, Lilith may find out that you're in the loop.”

“It doesn't matter. I'm never gonna do what Lilith wants. Her or the dicks in Heaven.”

“They won't give up. As we speak, they're likely trying to find a way to have you killed so your brother will make another deal,” Gabriel said.

“Why tell me that?” Sam asked. He figured that much for himself, but he didn't know why the Trickster felt so inclined to warn him.

“So you're prepared. If Dean makes the same mistake twice, which he will unless you warn him, you have to let it be. There will be no Crowley for you to go to next time,” Gabriel said. He planned to ensure that by going after the demon himself.

“What I do if and when that happens is none of your business. I don't even know why you care. Why did you save me?” Sam asked once again. He just wished the Trickster would answer him on that. He needed to know what his game was so he could deal with it and move on.

Gabriel smirked and leered at him. “Maybe I just think it's a shame that a pretty big thing like you should meet such an end.”

Before Sam even had the words to respond to such a comment, the Trickster was gone and he was left shocked at just being hit on by something he'd tried to kill before.


	9. Chapter 9

Sam sat at the small table in the motel room he shared with Dean with a bunch of books scattered around him, all of which had something to do with angels or Heaven. He wanted to find out as much as he could about angels. So far, the only information he had came from Crowley and the Trickster, and it wasn't nearly enough. He intended to be prepared for whatever they tried.

Soon, Dean walked in and saw his brother with books scattered around him. “What are you doing?”

“Research,” Sam said. He didn't try to hide it. It was a little late even if he wanted to. 

Dean walked over and picked up one of the books. “Last I knew, we were hunting a werewolf, not angels. What the hell, man?”

“What?” Sam asked in a tone that made it clear he felt he'd done nothing wrong.

“You know what, Sam. This thing you have against Cas,” Dean said. He'd hoped that Sam's distrust of angels would go away after a few days, but it hadn't. Sam had been back for weeks and nothing seemed to have changed. It scared Dean because he could barely recognize the brother he had from before their respective trips to Hell. 

“I don't know why you think I have anything against him? What, because I'm doing research. Maybe I just wanna know more about the guy you've befriended and where he comes from. Maybe it would help me to trust him,” Sam said. 

“He's an angel. I don't understand why you'd distrust him in the first place,” Dean said.

Sam scoffed. “Like that would be enough for you. It wasn't enough for you. Bobby told me you didn't even believe it when Castiel said he was an angel. Even after that, you didn't know whether you should trust him. But you expect me not to?”

“Yeah, because it's you! You'd pray all the time. You were the believer in angels. You always thought they were good,” Dean said.

“Well, maybe it's a little different actually seeing one. Maybe I want to make sure I can trust them before I start befriending them,” Sam said. 

“And you won't take my word that Cas can be trusted, right?” Dean asked with a bit of bitterness in his voice.

“This is not about trusting you. It's about the fact that some things are not what they appear to be. I'd think you'd know that by now,” Sam said.

“Cas came down here to save you,” Dean said.

“And that doesn't seem weird to you? Why would an angel give a damn about me selling my soul. People sell their souls all the time. Hell, you did, and they didn't rush to save you. Didn't you ever wonder once why they'd help me?” Sam asked. He didn't understand why his brother was so blinded by these guys. Why did he trust Castiel so much. Dean had never been very trusting before. 

“Of course I did. The only answer I got was that God wanted you saved. Yeah, that's weird, but Cas has never done anything to make me think he wasn't telling the truth. Besides, I may have wondered, but I never really cared about why they wanted to help you. As long as they did it, I was fine with it,” Dean said.

“Well, I'm not. I want to know what they want. They want something, Dean,” Sam said confidently. Of course, he already knew what they wanted, but he couldn't tell Dean that right now.

“You know, it's not just this issue you have with the angels. You're different, man. You're distant, you keep secrets, you lie to me...”

Sam stood up and interrupted his brother's rant. “Hold on! Don't even freaking try that! I have not lied to you once. Maybe I've refused to tell you thinks, but I have not lied.”

“Same thing, man. Am I supposed to feel better that you're just keeping things from me? That you don't trust me, your brother, enough to tell me what you're hiding?” Dean asked angrily.

“Like you trust me? You think I don't see the way you look at me, like something's wrong with me?” Sam asked.

“That's because there is! You don't act the way you used to. If I hadn't done those tests to make sure, I'd almost say you weren't even my brother,” Dean said.

Dean's words cut Sam, but to his credit, he didn't let his brother see that. He didn't wear his emotions on his sleeve anymore. After sixty years of torture, he simply didn't know how. Hell had hardened him, and a large part of him thought that was a good thing. “You say something like that to me and I'm supposed to trust you?”

“What the hell does that mean?” Dean asked.

“Anything I don't tell you is stuff I don't want them to know,” Sam said as he pointed to the ceiling to refer to the dicks in Heaven. “I don't trust them and I don't trust you not to tell them. Why wouldn't you since you have so little trust in me?” Sam asked.

Dean looked at his brother for several seconds with a stony expression before storming out of the room.

“Well, talk about conflict,” a voice said as soon as Dean was gone.

Sam turned to see a balding man wearing a suit. He had a smug grin on his face. “Who the hell are you?”

“My name is Zachariah. I'm an angel. I work with...”

“You've already lost my interest. Get out,” Sam said. 

Zachariah laughed. “Well, you're far from what I expected. Then again, from what I've gathered, your brother is even shocked by your superb personality.”

“I wasn't aware 'get out' translated to 'please keep annoying me',” Sam said dryly\

“I'm afraid we have business to discuss before I can leave. I want the name of the demon who dealt with you and the being that pulled you out of Hell,” Zachariah said in a tone that made it clear it wasn't a request.

Sam retook his seat and propped his legs up on the table. “We all want things we're never going to get. Deal.”

“You do not want to try my patience, boy. I can make things very difficult,” he said.

Sam smirked in response. “I like difficult. I've gotten used to it in the last sixty some odd years.”

Sam's words only seemed to anger Zachariah. “You smug little insect! You will give me what I want or I will rip off all your limbs with a wave of my hand!”

Sam laughed mockingly. “You'll find that torture doesn't intimidate me. It's all been done, I assure you, in worse ways than you could probably even dream up. Besides, you won't do anything. You want something from me and my brother. I may not know what it is, but I know you want something. You won't lay a finger on us.”

Zachariah had to admit, he wasn't expecting this type of reaction. He expected at least some kind of surprise and slight fear from the youngest Winchester after hearing his threat, but Sam Winchester didn't seem to give a damn. He believed nothing could touch him worse than Hell. “Don't underestimate me. I can do plenty to you without killing you, and believe me it will much worse than anything any demon did to you. Think your decision through. I will be back.” 

Sam watched him disappear before going back to his research without a care in the world.


	10. Chapter 10

Dean was bringing his things into the hotel room for their latest hunt. It had been almost a month since his fight with Sam. They barely spoke nowadays when it wasn't related to the job. Dean just could not get past Sam telling him he didn't trust him. He didn't let Sam see it, but it hurt to hear those words. Yeah, he knew he'd said pretty much the same to Sam, but he had good reason to say it. Sam had changed dramatically since he got back. He kept things from him. He even admitted that to him. Dean, on the other hand, had done nothing to earn Sam's distrust.

When Dean got inside, he found his brother paining something on the wall using his own blood. “What the hell are you doing?”

Sam turned to his brother. “I found this sigil while researching last week. From what I gathered, it's stronger than any other warding we've heard of.”

“Okay, so you wanna get rid of the salt? What if this doesn't work?” Dean said. This sounded good if it was true, but they didn't know that it was. They knew salt worked. He figured they should stick with what they knew.

“No, keep the salt. If figure this will be an extra protection,” Sam said. He of course neglected to tell his bother the sigil would only work against angels. He didn't want to get into another fight with him over it.

“Sure, whatever,” Dean said before grabbing the salt from his bag and getting to work on the windows.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxx

 

A few hours later, Dean was headed to the bar. He'd done everything he could with the case and now Sam was doing research. Dean needed a drink.

Dean just pulled into the nearest bar to the motel. He'd just shut off the car when he turned to the passenger seat and saw Cas. He immediately jumped. “Jesus, Cas, we've talked about this!”

“Hello, Dean, I apologize. I meant to come to you in your motel room. Is there a reason you deemed it necessary to apply angel warding to it?” Castiel asked.

“What? I didn't apply any angel warding. I didn't even know there was any such thing as angel warding,” Dean said confused.

“Your room has a sigil that keeps us out,” Castiel informed him.

It only took a second more for Dean to figure it out. That thing Sam was drawing earlier wasn't just some stronger demon warding like Sam had led him to believe. It was angel warding. “Son of a bitch! Sam put it up.”

“Yes, I suppose that makes sense. Your brother does not appear to like us too much,” Castiel said. He couldn't deny that Samuel Winchester's disdain for him unnerved him. Castiel knew that many humans didn't believe in angels, but he never thought he'd find such hate in one when they realized he did in fact exist. Sam didn't react the same way that Dean did to him. Dean distrusted him a bit at first, but it was more like a natural distrust for a being he'd never encountered. His brother seemed to downright hate Castiel and his kind. Castiel's only explanation for it was the demon blood. Demon blood corrupted people. It was likely that it had Sam as well. Castiel's superiors believed that anyway. They believed Sam was nothing more than an abomination that would turn on humanity. Castiel could find no reason to believe they were wrong.

“Cas, I know that Sam wasn't down their long enough to be turned into a demon, but I feel like something happened to him in Hell. Something changed him. I mean, it's like he's not even my brother anymore. He looks and talks the same, but he's different.

“Well, sixty years of torture does damage the human soul, not to the point of demonizing or even of driving a person insane, but it is damaging. It can and probably would change someone. That is assuming that he was tortured down there,” Castiel said. He wasn't sure Sam was tortured. Perhaps he was brought to Hell to corrupt him further. 

“What do you mean assuming he was tortured? Of course he was tortured,” Dean said.

“He wasn't put on the rack like most other souls. He was hidden. It's common knowledge that demons wished to use your brother for some sort of army. Perhaps they were furthering that plan,” Castiel said.

Dean shook his head. “No, he wasn't groomed for anything down there. I've heard his nightmares. He was tortured.” That was one thing he was sure of. He'd heard Sam scream and toss and turn at night. Hell had been no better for Sam than it had been for him.

“Well, then perhaps the torture did twist his soul some,” Castiel said.

“Or they did something specific to him to change him,” Dean said. He didn't want to believe that it was simply the ongoing torture. That would mean that this was just how Sam was going to be from now on and he didn't want to accept that. He wanted the brother he had before Hell. 

Castiel looked at Dean for a moment. He was contemplating telling the hunter about the demon blood. While torture was an explanation, so was the possibility that the demon blood finally corrupted him. It could also be a combination of the two. But he'd been told that it wasn't time for Dean to know about the demon blood yet. Castiel was usually very obedient, but he'd become very fond of Dean. He wanted to warn him about what could happen. 

“What, Cas? You obviously have something to say,” Dean said.

“I am unsure if this is something I should be telling you, but I believe you'd want to be prepared. The night the demon, Azzazel, attacked your family, it wasn't your mother he wanted. It was your brother,” Castiel told him.

“I know that. He wanted Sam to lead his army of demons. He even gave him powers,” Dean said.

“But you don't know how he did it. We do. He placed drops of his blood into your brothers mouth. Sam swallowed that blood and it became intertwined with his soul,” Castiel explained. 

Dean felt sick just at the thought of some demon forcing his blood into his brother's mouth. He thought he knew everything demons were capable of, but even he didn't think they could be that disgusting. “Why?”

“We don't know that. We do know that demon blood corrupts though. If you really believe something is corrupting your brother, and I think you may be right, it's likely this is it,” Castiel said. 

Dean shook his head. “No. It's been in him his whole life. Why would it just start affecting him now?”

“The trauma of Hell, perhaps. It could've made him embrace it. I don't know,” Castiel said.

Dean was silent for a few minutes before speaking again. “Does Sam know?”

“I don't know.”

“I need a drink,” Dean said before getting out of his car and walking towards the bar.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxx

 

After a few hours of research, Sam decided to take a walk to stretch his legs. He just managed to get out of the room when he heard a voice behind him.

“Nice warding.”

Sam turned to see the Trickster standing there. “Are you ever going to leave me alone?”

Gabriel shrugged. “Maybe eventually.”

“What do you want, Loki.”

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “Loki. What brought you to that conclusion?” 

“Research. Loki is the only trickster that isn't a demigod, but an actual god. You weren't killed when we got you at the college. I thought maybe it was a trick, but maybe it was also because the stake couldn't kill you,” Sam said.

“It's both,” Gabriel said.

“So I'm right?” Sam asked.

“More or less,” was Gabriel's response. 

“So are you finally going to tell me what it is you want?” Sam asked.

“Didn't I already do that last time?” Gabriel asked.

“No, you hit on me and then you disappeared,” Sam said with an annoyed huff. 

Gabriel smiled and started circling around him with a lustful look. “Well, can you really blame me. You are quite pretty Sammy.

Sam rolled his eyes. Honestly though, he wouldn't mind doing the Trickster. Loki was quite attractive himself. He remembering thinking about it when he and Dean met him the first time. He'd never really had a specific sexual preference. In fact, he lost his virginity to a guy. So, no, he wouldn't mind. He'd been taken aback right after Loki hit on him last time, but after thinking about it, he found he didn't mind too much. “I'm sure if you really wanted to get laid, you could do so. Hell, I've seen the girls you've conjured up.”

“True. I could even make a fake you if I really wanted, but it would be a poor imitation, especially when I got the real one right here,” Gabriel said before snapping his fingers, teleporting them both to his bedroom. It hadn't been his intention when he original revealed himself to the hunter, but he could see behind the annoyed facade that the youngest Winchester wouldn't be put off to the idea.

Sam looked around. He was standing in a large bedroom. There was a king sized bed in the middle of the room. The lights were dimmed and there was romantic music in the background. “Seriously.”

“Why not? Come on, I can see in your eyes that you really want it,” Gabriel said.

“I don't date things I've hunted,” Sam said.

“Who said anything about dating. I'm just offering a night of pleasure,” Gabriel said seductively before gently pushing Sam backwards until he fell into a sitting position on the bed.

Sam couldn't deny that he found this damn hot right now. Not only had he always been a little attracted to the Trickster, but it had been an awful long time since he'd gotten some with anyone. Sixty years was a long time to go without.

Gabriel took Sam's lack of response as approval to go ahead, so he pushed Sam onto the bed completely and got on top of him. He started ripping his clothes off, all the while kissing him passionately. It wasn't long before he found Sam reciprocating his affections.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for cutting out all the action between Sam and Gabriel. I'm not good at sex scenes. I don't think I'd be able to do it justice, so I decided to leve it out.


	11. Chapter 11

Sam woke up the next morning pressed against the Trickster. He hadn't meant to spend the night, but it turned out that several instances of hot sex with a god in one night tired a person out. It probably didn't help that he didn't sleep well since his return from Hell.

“Morning, handsome,” Gabriel said with a grin.

Sam slowly pulled away from the God. “What time is it?”

“Just after nine,” Gabriel replied.

Sam was surprised. He didn't remember the last time he slept that long. Certainly before Hell. Even then though it didn't happen very often. 

“What's the matter? Afraid big brother will be worried,” Gabriel asked in a slightly teasing voice.

Sam snorted. “Please, he probably didn't go back last night either. I'd venture he was doing the same thing we were.” Dean had a tendency to hook up with a random woman when he went bar hopping. 

“Well, something tells me he didn't have as much fun as us,” Gabriel said while grinning. 

“Can't say you're wrong there,” Sam said. He may not trust Loki and he certainly wasn't in love with him, but he had to admit that he was good in bed. He would definitely not be opposed to doing this again.

Gabriel rolled over on top of him. “I'll take that as a compliment. You weren't so bad yourself,” he said before planting small kisses all over his neck. 

Sam tilted his head back to give him more access and moaned loudly. “Keep this up and I may never leave this bed.”

Gabriel chuckled. “Maybe that's my plan. To keep you here as my willing sex slave,” Gabriel said.

Sam barely managed to push down the arousal he felt from the Trickster's advances. As much as he could go for another round, he had to get up and get back to the real world. There was a case that still needed to be solved. Plus, there were a bunch of angels that were trying and succeeding in influencing his brother. “Tempting, but I have to get up.”

“I think I could change your mind,” Gabriel said seductively.

“Maybe, but I won't let you,” Sam said before shoving him off to the side. Then he started to sit up.

“Fine, spoilsport. I suppose you should get back anyway, before your brother starts to fret. He might send his pet angel after you and that would just end badly on all levels,” Gabriel said. Actually, that wasn't really true. Castiel would never find Sam with him. His witness protection wouldn't exactly work if he allowed angels to get access to his home. He made sure it was protected from angels finding it. “Of course, if you told him the truth, you might not have that issue.”

Sam turned and quirked an eyebrow at him. “What makes you think I haven't?” He hadn't told Loki that he didn't tell Dean about the angels' plan, so the Trickster shouldn't know he hadn't. 

“Well, let's just say that you interest me, and I tend to keep an eye on things that interest me,” Gabriel said.

Sam chuckled. “Should I take that as a compliment?”

“Oh, definitely. I don't give just anyone my interest. So are you ever going to tell him?” Gabriel asked.

“If I did, he'd tell, Castiel, and then it's all over. So right now, no,” Sam said as he found his clothes on the floor and slipped his boxers on.

“A valid worry, but is letting him keep his head in the sand any better? Then he's right where they want him,” Gabriel said. Honestly, he wasn't sure which was worse. Letting Dean remain ignorant or having him reveal what he and Sam knew to Castiel. Both seemed like recipes for disaster.

“No, he's not. I'm not going to let them do anything to him,” Sam swore.

“Oh, they don't want to do anything to him, not yet anyway. They wanna do it to you. Before this goes any further, you have to die again. Then they'll let Dean's self-sacrificing tendency do what they want it to do. He'll make another deal and end up back in the pit until he breaks the first seal,” Gabriel explained.

“I doubt that would change if I told him the truth,” Sam said as he began putting his pants on. He had no doubt that knowledge or no, Dean would make still make that deal if he died. Dean believed it was his job to protect him. He would sacrifice the world to accomplish that goal.

“Point taken,” Gabriel said. The Winchesters could both be self-sacrificing idiots. That was proven with both their stints in Hell. It probably wouldn't even matter if Dean knew the costs of going back to Hell. He'd probably still do it to save his brother. “Then I'm not sure you'll be able to stop that first seal from breaking. If Dean goes to Hell, he will break the first seal. You know that, right?” Gabriel asked.

“Yeah,” Sam said as he stood up and started putting his T-shirt on. Right after Crowley told him what was supposed to happen to Dean in Hell, he tried to tell himself that it wouldn't. He told himself Dean would never break and hurt someone else. But since then, Sam had experienced the endless agony that was Hell. He would've broken if he'd been given the option. There was no doubt that Dean would too.

“So what are you going to do about it?” Gabriel asked.

“I'll find a way to stop it. What do you care anyway,” Sam asked as he put his flannel over-shirt on and then sat down to put on his socks and shoes. While they had just had an entire night of probably the best sex he'd ever had, that was all it was. He had no delusions that he was anything else to the Trickster, and he was sure Loki didn't have such delusions about him either. He shouldn't care what happened next. 

“I told you, I don't want this world to end,” was Gabriel's only answer. 

“Whatever you say. I will be prepared for whatever an angel or demon throw at me. I know enough about both creatures to know how to stop them,” Sam said.

“No, you don't. You may know some warding and a few weakness, but you have no idea what angels can and will do to stop you from preventing Destiny. Their power is almost boundless,” Gabriel said seriously.

Once he finished tying his shoes, Sam stood up and faced his lover. “Are they more powerful than you?”

“Not all of them. The lower angels are not more powerful than me, but the archangels are,” Gabriel answered honestly. While, yes, he was an archangel, he was the youngest one, as such, Michael, Lucifer, and Raphael were more powerful. 

“And you're afraid of them. That's why while you'll warn me, you won't do anything,” Sam said coldly. He didn't use the word 'coward', but he made it clear that's what he thought of the Trickster. He claimed to want to save the world, but if it meant sticking his neck out out, he would bow out. 

Gabriel glared dangerously at the hunter. “Don't even think you have the right to go there. I don't owe you or this world anything!”

“Fine, but then stop acting like you care about it. You gonna send me back or what?” Sam asked before slipping his jacket on.

“Sure. Pray for me if you want to do this again,” Gabriel said before snapping his fingers. He might be a little pissed at the hunter's insinuations, but that didn't mean he was going to pass up the chance to recreate the night they'd just had. 

 

Xxxxxxxxxxx

 

Sam appeared right outside the motel next to the Impala. After taking a second to get used to the new surroundings, he immediately headed for the motel room. He let himself in and found Dean sitting at the small table next to the door looking a bit less then pleased.

“Where have you been all night?” Dean asked. After getting totally drunk, he got back to the motel room to find his brother wasn't there. At the time, he didn't care too much because he was too drunk to care about anything, but when he woke up and found his brother still wasn't there, he wondered where he went. 

Sam didn't answer. Instead, his eyes roamed the wall closest to his bed, where he'd placed the angel warding up. It was no longer there.

“Yeah, I took down your angel wards,” Dean said with a glare, realizing exactly what his brother was thinking.

“If I don't want angels around me, that's my right,” Sam said before walking further into the room. He took his jacket off and threw it on his bed.

“You gonna tell me where you've been?” Dean asked.”

“I didn't realize I had to. Last I checked, I can go where I please. But if it's that important to you, I picked someone up last night,” Sam said. Okay, so it was more like the other way around, but that didn't really matter.

Dean raised an eyebrow in surprise. Sam rarely picked up women. It happened from time to time, but it was rare. Sam wasn't the one night stand type. He preferred relationships. “Huh. Was she pretty.”

“He was very pretty,” Sam stated. Whether he liked and trusted him or not, he could not deny that the Trickster was hot. 

“Ah,” was Dean's only response. It wasn't surprising to him that Sam picked up a guy. He knew his brother was picky about gender. “How'd you get around? I had the car.”

“I have legs,” Sam said before sitting down across from his brother. “Now, something tells me it's not my sex life you wanna talk about.”

“Did you know that you had demon blood inside you,” Dean asked. He saw no reason to ease in to what he wanted to know. It was best to be blunt.

Sam was a bit caught of guard by the question, but he quickly got over it. Of course the dick angels would go there. They wanted to drive a wedge between him and Dean, and what better way than to convince Dean there was something wrong with him. “Yes. I found out right before you made your deal.

“And you weren't going to tell me?!” Dean asked angrily.

“Try finding out some demon bled into your mouth! See how easy it is for you to deal with it! Maybe I needed to come to terms with it before I could think about telling you,” Sam said.

“You seem fine with it now,” Dean commented. His brother seemed annoyed that he was questioning him on his secret, but he didn't seem to have any problems with the secret itself.

“I've had sixty years to get over it,” Sam said.

Dean cringed. He hated it when Sam said things like that. Sam didn't talk about Hell, but occasionally, he comment about the amount of time he'd been gone, and Dean hated that. He hated the reminder of how long Sam had spent in Hell because of him. “You know, Cas thinks the demon blood may have done something to you.”

“I don't give a damn what your angel buddy thinks,” Sam said shortly.

“Yeah, well, I think he might be right!” Dean said in a slightly raised voice.

“Oh, the hell you do!” Sam yelled before angrily standing up. “I've had demon blood inside me my entire life! You're not stupid enough to think it waited twenty-five years to affect me!”

“Yeah, well then tell why it is your suddenly different! And why you distrust angels so much!” Dean yelled back.

“You know why!” Sam screamed. He was damned tired of this. Dean had been trying to convince himself for months that who Sam was now was due to some sinister plot because he didn't want to face what really changed Sam, nor did he want to face that it wasn't somehow going to fix itself. “You know exactly why I'm like this, and I am sick of watching you try to deny it! I am sick of watching you search for some way to fix it! Wake the hell up! This is not because of demon blood or any kind of spell! I am like this because Hell is just that! You don't come out of it the same! I would think you'd know that!”

Dean shook his head. He couldn't accept that. He just couldn't. “No, this is something different.”

Sam huffed went to grab his jacket. “I don't have the time or patience for your denial. I'm going for a walk,” he said before heading for the door. He turned around at the last minute though. “Oh, just one thing about your angel friends, whom you apparently trust more than me. They threatened to cut off my limbs if I didn't tell them about the demon who made the deal with me or who got me out of Hell. You think that's a good reason for me not to trust them?”

Dean didn't even get the chance to respond before his brother stormed out.


	12. Chapter 12

Bobby Singer knew something was wrong with his boys. From the moment they entered his house after their latest hunt, he knew something was up. Both men were extremely quiet around each other, never speaking more than was necessary to each other. Hell, they tended not to even stay in the same room with each other if they didn't have to. Finally, Bobby had had enough and decided he was going to find out what was going on with his boys and fix it. Sam and Dean being this distant with each other just wasn't right. Their relationship had always been stronger than anything he'd ever seen.

Bobby found Dean out by his car washing it. He decided it was better to start with Dean. For one, Sam wasn't there. He'd left that morning and hadn't been seen since. For another, when their was a real problem with the boys to go with Dean. He was the easiest one to get through to. It wouldn't seem like it since Dean had the rougher exterior, but Sam was many times more stubborn than his older brother. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Dean greeted back, not taking his eyes of his car.

“You wanna tell me what the hell is going on with you and your brother?” Bobby asked.

“Nothing. Everything's fine,” Dean lied in a rough tone.

“I thought you could lie better than that. You think I haven't noticed the tension between you two? You barely even speak. Something's been wrong with the two of you since he got back,” Bobby said.

Dean's head shot up to his surrogate father and he glared. “No! Something's been wrong with him! He's the one that's off, not me!”

“Off how?” Bobby asked. This was the first time he'd seen the boys since their visit right after Sam got out of Hell, so he hadn't noticed a whole lot with Sam, other than the fact that their was a problem between him and Dean.

“I told you when we were here before. He's acting different. He's got some weird problem with Cas, and angels in general. He even put up some kind of angel proofing on our last motel room. He tried to play it off as normal warding. He wouldn't have even told me what he was doing. Cas came to me in the car and told me,” Dean said. And, yes, if Cas really did threaten Sam, he could see why his brother would go to such lengths, but Dean wasn't sure his brother had told him the truth. He'd been acting very untrustworthy. 

“This is all about angels?” Bobby asked annoyed. He was disappointed that the boys would let a rift form out some beings that had been around for less than a year. He would've thought they'd be smarter than that.

“No, it's not. Sam's just not the same. He's hiding things from me. He barely talks to me unless it's case related. His whole personality is just different. It reminds me... It reminds me of Dad,” Dean said. He had to say that was what actually troubled him the most. He loved his father, but he did not want to see his little brother become him. Their father had been cold and ruthless, only really caring about the hunt. Sammy was the polar opposite. That didn't need to change.

“I find it hard to believe that Sam is turning into your dad. Maybe he's a bit more hard skinned, but I don't think he could ever be your dad,” Bobby said.

Dean shook his head and went back to scrubbing his car. “You haven't seen him. He's not the kid I took care of his whole life.”

Bobby sighed. “You said he was keeping things from you, like what?”

“Well, like the demon who sent him to Hell for one, and the thing that brought him back,” Dean said. He'd asked a few times and Sam refused to tell him. He'd blow him off and say it didn't matter.

“You sure Sam knows what brought him back?” Bobby asked.

“Yeah, he knows. He all but admitted that. He's protecting it for some reason, yet he has no problem condemning Cas even though both aren't human,” Dean said. 

“Alright, leave the angel out of it for now. That's probably just making things worse between you and your brother,” Bobby said. He could see why Sam would be upset. Dean put a lot of stock and trust into Castiel. That was evident in the things he said, and Bobby could see where it would piss Sam off. It might have him thinking that Dean was trying to replace Sam with Castiel, which might just be leading to more animosity towards the angel. “Look, if he won't tell you what this thing is, it might be to pay it back for saving him.”

“Or because it did something to him. Maybe it's controlling him somehow,” Dean said. That and the demon blood were Dean's two working theories for what might be up with his brother. Sam's rant about Hell was also in the back of his head, but he pushed it out whenever his brain started to even consider it. He could not accept Hell itself had done this. That would make it his fault, and it would mean there was no fixing it. 

“Anything to support that theory?” Bobby asked.

“No, but it's all I can think of. Or...”

“Or what?” Bobby pressed.

“There's something else Sam tried to keep from me,” Dean said. Then he told Bobby what Cas had told him about Sam ingesting demon blood when he was a baby. 

Bobby was disgusted, not at Sam, but at what had been done to him. He thought he knew everything a demon could do, but not even he ever thought something like that was possible. “What the hell purpose does that serve.”

“To lead that damned demon army, probably. Cas thinks it was meant to change him. He thinks maybe it did. That the demon blood is what's made him different,” Dean explained.

“That's ridiculous! You really think it would've taken twenty-five years if it was going to affect him?” Bobby asked. He had no doubt that maybe demon blood could affect someone, but he didn't think it affected Sam. Sam's heart had been pure all his life. 

“I don't know, but somehow my brother's different, and other than maybe the thing that pulled him out of Hell, I can't think of anything that could've changed him like that,” Dean said.

“Well, I can. Hell itself,” Bobby said. He knew Dean didn't want to hear this, which was why he didn't bring it up the first time they talked after Sam got out of Hell, but now he felt Dean needed to see the truth, otherwise, he'd lose his brother. 

Dean shook his head. “No.”

Bobby sighed. “Dean, the first time we talked about Sam when he got back, when you first said you were worried, the first thing I thought was, he was in Hell for sixty years. That's over half a century. You think you can come back from that the same?”

Dean didn't answer. In fact, he didn't even look at Bobby. 

“You told me what Hell was like yourself, Dean. It was why you were so determined to make sure your brother didn't go through it in your place. Do you really think it would be any better for him? He was there for sixty years,” Bobby stressed.

Dean whipped his head up and glared angrily. “I know that! I don't need you or him to keep reminding me how long he was there! I already know! But... But if it really changed him and did something to him I can't fix, how am I supposed to forgive myself?”

Bobby finally understood. He'd thought it was just the fact that Dean didn't want to admit a permanent change in his brother, but it was also that he blamed himself for it. He supposed it made sense. Sam had gone to Hell to save Dean. Of course Dean would hold himself responsible. “Dean, Sam made the choice to go to Hell. I'm sure he'd tell you that himself.”

“It doesn't matter, Bobby. Sam went to Hell to save me. Whatever happened to him is on me. So I just can't accept that they destroyed him down their so badly that he isn't who I knew anymore,” Dean said.

“So instead you're gonna go around treating him like there's something wrong with him? You're gonna look around for some fix that isn't going to come? You think that's better. It's driving a wedge between you and your brother, and if you keep it up, he's gonna leave. Who in their right mind would stay in those conditions. You think you could live with yourself then. Because if he leaves, it really will be on you. You will have pushed him away. Get your head out of your ass, boy, before it's too late,” Bobby said before walking away. 

 

Xxxxxxxxxxx

 

Dean spent the next few hours after talking to Bobby driving and trying to think. What Bobby said really got through to him. He knew Bobby was right, at lest with the last thing he said. Things were so tense between him and Sam. They got worse everyday, and Dean knew if something didn't give, one of them was going to leave, and that was the last thing Dean wanted. He had to fix it.

Dean spent the last few hours thinking about everything that had happened since Sam returned from Hell. Only he thought about it from Sam's point of view. He'd just literally gone to Hell and back. He came back probably hoping his big brother would help pick up the pieces, but Dean hadn't done that. Instead, he introduced some angel he'd been working with in Sam's absence. A being Sam knew nothing about. And, yeah, it was a little weird for Sam to be so distrustful of something he always believed existed, but thinking back, maybe that was Dean's fault. Again, Dean had sprung this friend that he confided in while Sam was gone. Or at least that was how Sam probably saw it. He probably saw Cas as some kind of replacement. That's how Dean would feel if it were him.

From there, Dean only made things worse. He'd gotten so upset that Sam wouldn't trust his secrets with him, but he hadn't exactly made that easy for Sam. He'd looked at his own brother like there was something wrong with him. He'd made his distrust well known. Why should Sam trust him back after that? 

Dean still preferred to believe that something did something to his brother. It was a more pleasant thought than that his brother had been damaged beyond repair and hardened in a way he would've despised just a year ago. But he started to at least consider the possibility. He forced himself to because if he didn't, he would lose Sam, just like Bobby said. He had to start taking care of his brother again, the way he was supposed to. That's why he was leaned against his car in the middle of nowhere, waiting for Cas.

Another way Dean had failed his brother was by believing he was lying about being threatened. No matter how much Sam might have changed, he would never make up a story like that. He should of realized that. He raised the kid himself. He should no him well enough to know that what he'd said was the truth.

Suddenly, Cas appeared in front of him. “Dean. Did you need something?”

Dean stood up straight and hardened his features. “Where do you get off threatening my little brother?”

Castiel was taken aback, both by the accusation and by the angry tone in Dean's voice. “I don't know what you mean. I have done no such thing.”

“He says you have,” Dean said. 

“Then he is lying to you,” Castiel said. Apparently his brothers had been correct. Sam Winchester did need to be regarded carefully. He was telling lies about them.

“Calling my brother a liar only pisses me off more, Cas!” Dean yelled.

“Dean, I have not threatened your brother. I have not even been in his presence since the day he returned from Hell, which you were present for as well. Your brother does not like angels or your involvement with us. It is clear he is trying to turn you against us,” Castiel said.

“No. My brother would not make something like that up! He's not the kind of person who would do that,” Dean said firmly.

“You were just saying recently that your brother had changed and that you did not trust him. You believed something had changed him. You are likely right. The demon blood...”

“The demon blood would've started affecting him years ago if it was going to,” Dean said. That was another thing he should've realized on his own. He shouldn't have needed both Sam and Bobby to tell him that.

“Dean, demon blood is toxic and it shouldn't exist in a human. Nothing good comes from it,” Castiel said.

Dean took a step forward. “Are you trying to say demon blood makes my brother some kind of freak? Because I swear, I will kill you if you even suggest it!”

“Dean, I don't understand why you're so angry. We discussed the demon blood not that long ago and you weren't...”

“I am angry because you threatened my brother!” Dean yelled.

“I did not! There is no purpose for me to even threaten him,” Castiel said.

“He said you wanted the names of the demon that sent him to Hell and the thing that got him out. He said when he wouldn't tell you, you threatened to remove his limbs! Let me make this clear! I don't care if you are an angel! If you hurt my brother, I'll be the one taking limbs!” Dean swore. He'd liked Cas before this, even considered him a friend, but no one hurt his little brother. Sam would always come first, no matter what. 

“I didn't threaten him, Dean. What must I say to convince you?” Castiel asked.

“Nothing. Sam said an angel threatened him, and I believe him,” Dean said firmly.

“He said an angel, not me personally?” Castiel asked

“No, but you're the only angel around.”

Castiel began to suspect that maybe Sam was not lying. He remembered Zachariah telling him he would get the information they needed about how Sam ended up in Hell if he couldn't. It didn't occur to Castiel that it would be through threats, though he wasn't sure why. None of them were above that if it was what it took. 

“What?” Dean demanded to know.

“It wasn't me who threatened your brother, but perhaps another angel did. My superior was insistent on the information you mentioned. He did say he'd find a way to get it. It's possible he showed himself to Sam,” Castiel explained.

“And threatened him!” Dean growled. The fact that it might not have been Cas personally made him feel slightly better, or at least less betrayed, but one of these dicks had still gone after his brother and it pissed him off. 

“He would not have responded well to your brother's refusal to answer,” Castiel said.

“Who is he?”

“His name is Zachariah. He's my direct superior. I believe he may have been the one. Dean, I understand that his methods upset you, but it is important that we retrieve this information from your brother,” Castiel said. 

“And what's a few threats, right? Screw you and your dick head boss! I trusted you to the point where it could've ruined my relationship with my brother! And it turns out he was right! Your boss threatens my brother and you act like it's okay! Well, it's not. Stay away from Sam or I swear I will come after all of you!” Dean warned before walking away. He got in his car and drove off without another word.


	13. Chapter 13

The next morning, Sam sat in the kitchen with probably his third cup of coffee. He'd been up pretty early. He hadn't slept well the night before. Actually, he didn't sleep well most mornings. One of the many things he could thank Crowley for. But last night wasn't just about Hell. His very strained relationship with his brother was also on his mind. Things only seemed to get worse between him and Dean. When they weren't screaming or at least snapping at each other, it was eerily silent. Dean would just look over at him as if he was trying to figure out what was wrong with him.

Dean's actions and words hurt Sam. He never thought Dean would look at him like he was something they hunted, but that was exactly what Sam felt like when his brother looked at him. And, yeah, he supposed part of it was his fault for keeping secrets, but he was doing it to protect his brother. Hell, he was doing it to protect the entire world. Honestly, if Sam didn't think he had to watch out for Dean being around those jackass angels, he probably would've taken off by now. 

Soon, Bobby came strolling through the kitchen and headed for the coffee maker. He saw that coffee was made and about half empty. “Morning. Been up a while I see.”

“Yeah. I get up earlier nowadays,” was all Sam said.

“I take it your brother is still asleep,” Bobby guessed as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

“I wouldn't know. He didn't come in last night,” Sam said. 

Bobby sighed. He wished he could say that had surprised him, but it didn't. Dean hadn't been the happiest after their talk yesterday. Usually when that happened, he found a bar and then a girl. Like that was going to make the situation Dean was in go away. 

Bobby took his coffee and walked over to the table, sitting across from Sam. “So things haven't been the best between you and your brother.”

Sam noticed that Bobby hadn't phrased that as a question. He was stating a fact. “No. I assume he's talked to you about how he thinks there's something wrong with me.”

“Yep. Started saying it right after you got back. He noticed that you'd changed. You can't really deny that he's right,” Bobby said. 

“You're right, I can't. But it's not because of some kind of spell or something like that, like Dean thinks. Actually, now he thinks it's the demon blood. He tell you about that?” Sam asked.

Bobby nodded. “Can't say I wasn't a bit creeped out by it, but not because of you. I thought it was just a little creepy that a demon forced a bunch of kids to drink his blood.”

Sam laughed a little. “Yeah, imagine how disgusted I was when I found out. The demon blood isn't doing anything to me, Bobby.”

“Oh, I know that, boy. If a few drops of demon blood were going to change you, they would've done so years ago,” Bobby said.

Sam sighed in relief. “Well at least someone has common sense! I am glad I'm not the only one who can see that logic.”

“Dean knows it too. He's just been trying to cling to anything else to avoid the truth,” Bobby said.

“I know. You get it then, Bobby?”

Bobby nodded. “Never been to Hell, but it gets its name for a reason, right? I suspected from the first time Dean told me he was worried that you were different what it was. Torture changes people. A few weeks or months can change people, let alone sixty years.”

“Dean doesn't seem to wanna accept that,” Sam said before taking a sip of his coffee.

“You know it's because he blames himself for you going to Hell, right?” Bobby asked.

“Yeah, I know that, but there's not really much I can do about it. I mean, I don't blame him. I'd do it all again in a minute if happened again,” Sam said. Hell, if those damned angels got away with what they were doing and somehow managed to kill him again and get Dean to make another deal, he'd try it again. Of course, he was almost positive it wouldn't work a second time, but he'd still try if he had to. But he would do whatever he could to make sure he didn't have to. “If I thought it would make any difference at all, I'd tell him that, but I know it wouldn't matter.”

“Hmm. You two can be just as stubborn as your daddy,” Bobby grumbled. 

Sam laughed. “Winchester. It's a synonym for stubborn. Bobby, I...I'm not sure Dean and I going to be able to get past this. I can't go back to how I was, and if Dean can't accept things for how they are, I'm afraid we'll fall apart.”

“The Hell we will,” a third voice said from the front door. 

Both men turned to see Dean standing in the doorway with the door wide open. 

Dean closed the door and walked all the way inside. “Bobby, can I talk to my brother alone please?”

Bobby nodded before standing up. He gave Dean a look, pretty much telling him not to screw this up before heading outside, shutting the door behind him. 

“You don't look like you went bar hopping all night,” Sam commented. 

Dean shook his head and walked closer. “No, I wasn't drinking last night. I spent most of the night driving or parked in the middle of nowhere, trying to figure out what to say to you. Because 'I'm sorry' just doesn't seem like enough.”

Sam raised both eyebrows in surprise. He wasn't expecting any sort of apology. The last time they spoke, Dean was still pretty pissed and hellbent on something being wrong with Sam. “You're sorry?”

Dean took his jacket and hung it on the outside of the chair opposite his brother before sitting down in it. “Bobby cornered me yesterday and basically shoved in my face how big a dick I've been. He was right. So were you. You said I was in denial about what was really changing you and you. I just... I wanted something I could fix. I would to be able to threaten or kill something and have it go away. And I wanted whatever it was to be something that wasn't my fault.”

“Dean, my going to Hell wasn't your fault. I made my own choice and I don't have any regrets,” Sam told him. He knew it wouldn't stop Dean's guilt, but he decided to say it anyway. 

“You went for me, Sam.”

“And you for me,” Sam countered. 

“It's different,” Dean argued.

Sam sighed. “Yeah, I know you think it's different because you're my big brother and somehow that makes it your responsibility. I don't see it that way. The way I see it, we went to Hell to save each other because neither one of us could live with the end the other met, and we both lived with the guilt for the other going to Hell. I don't blame you for going to Hell anymore than you blame me for your trip, and at this point it's over anyway.”

“No, it's not. I've heard your nightmares,” Dean said.

“And I've heard yours,” Sam said without missing a beat. “Look, I'm not going to tell you that there are no affects of what I went through in Hell. You've seen for yourself that there are, but I'm living with them. These changes are not the end of the world,” Sam said

“Maybe not to you, but I'm seeing so much of Dad in you, and you would've hated that before,” Dean said sadly.

Sam sighed. He couldn't deny that was true. He'd spent most of his life resenting their father. “I was almost completely innocent when I felt that way. Sure, I knew that there were monsters out there and that good people got hurt, but I was still naive. Now I understand more. I understand what Dad wanted to do for us. Did he make mistakes? Hell, yeah, but it wasn't the way I thought it was. He was trying to help us the best way he could.

“I still don't like it, but I know it's not something you can help, and I know you're not like this because something's wrong with you. Who you are is because of circumstances. I'm sorry I tried to make it a problem with you specifically. I must have made you feel like crap, and that's just more wrong than I can say. You came back from Hell, something you endured for me, and I treated you like a stranger. I told you I didn't trust you. All the while, I treated an actual stranger better than you,” Dean said. Okay, so Cas wasn't really a stranger to him, but compared to Sam he was. He'd only known the angel for less than a year. “I'm sorry, Sammy.”

“Thank you,” Sam said.

“You were right about the angels. I'm sorry to say that I didn't believe you about them threatening you at first, but I realized last night that you'd never lie about something like that. I confronted Cas about it and he actually tried to make it sound like it wasn't a big deal. I told him that he better stay away from us,” Dean said. Well, he'd told him to stay away from Sam, but it was obvious that he meant both of them.

Sam felt a weight lifted. Dean had finally opened his eyes to the fact that angels couldn't be trusted. That would make things much easier. Not that the problem was suddenly solved, but Dean trusting those bastards made things much harder. He couldn't protect his brother from them if Dean didn't show at least some caution. “I'm glad. I just don't think they are as trustworthy as you do.”

“Obviously they're not since they threatened you. Sam, I swear, I will never put anyone else before you again. I hope you can forgive me for doing it all this time,” Dean said. He could understand if his brother didn't forgive him. He'd screwed him over. He'd blatantly ignored the most important job he'd ever had, taking care of his baby brother.

“Of course I can. I won't deny that things have been messed up between us lately, but you're my brother. I don't want anything to come between us. Besides, it's not all on you. I have kept things from you. Unfortunately, I'm not ready to tell you now. It's mostly because I don't want angels finding out and I don't trust them not to be listening,” Sam said.

Dean nodded. “Alright, I can understand that. I do want to know a couple of things. Do you know what the thing is that saved you?”

“Yes,” Sam answered. 

“Do you trust it?” Dean asked.

“Well, no, not really, but I do believe he has some good intentions.”

“And you probably think you owe him for saving you. I get why you'd protect him. He did save you. What about the demon that sent you to Hell? Why protect him?”

“Oh, I'm not. Trust me, I want him dead as much as you do,” Sam said. Sure, Crowley had given him the information he needed, but he was still cruel SOB and Sam wanted to pay him back for every second of time Crowley spent tormenting him. “The thing is that there is a reason angels want his name and I don't think I want them getting what they want. Besides, I want his ass for myself.”

Dean nodded after a second. “Okay, that's good enough. I have to trust that you know what you're doing.”

“Thank you.”

“So what do you save we start looking for a job? I say we get back on the road,” Dean said.

“Sounds good. I'm gonna shower and then I'll start looking,” Sam said. 

“Cool. I'll go pick up some breakfast for us and Bobby,” Dean said before getting up. He grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. 

 

Xxxxxxxxxxx

 

Castiel was nervous as he headed for Zachariah's office. His superior was not going to be happy that he'd lost Dean's trust. It would not matter that Zachariah himself was the reason for Dean's ire. Castiel knew he'd still be blamed.

Castiel knocked on the door and waiting until he heard Zachariah's voice telling him to come in. Once inside, he barely suppressed a gulp at finding out that the two archangels, Michael and Raphael were also present. He was going to give his status report to both big bosses.

“Ah, Castiel, good to see you. Come in. Tell us how things are going with the Righteous Man,” Michael urged. 

Castiel shut the door behind him and walked in further. “I...I'm afraid things are not going well. Dean has asked that I stay away.”

Zachariah glared at the young angel. “What have you done? Your mission was not that difficult. You were told to form a bond with the human. How is that so difficult?!”

Castiel was hesitant. Zachariah would not be pleased if Castiel made him look bad in front of the two archangel's. He would be sure to take it out on him when they left. “He is having concerns do to his brother's feelings regarding us.”

“You informed me that he was not listening to his brother, that he didn't trust the boy,” Zachariah said. That had been both pleasing and concerning. They wanted to eventually drive a wedge between the two brothers. That was how they'd make sure Sam Winchester followed the path they wanted, but they still needed Dean to have enough faith in his brother that he would sacrifice himself to save Sam once more. That was why he'd told Castiel not to inform the older Winchester about the demon blood. 

“He wasn't, but that changed,” Castiel said.

“Why is that, Castiel? What aren't you telling us?” Michael asked, his authority shining through his voice.

Castiel knew he had no choice but to tell them what he knew, so he looked at Zachariah as he answered. “Dean is angry because his brother was threatened by an angel. That is why he no longer trusts us.”

Michael followed the angel's gaze to Zachariah. He understood exactly what was being said and gave the seraph a calculating look. “You threatened Samuel Winchester, Zachariah?”

“I was trying to encourage him to tell us about the demon who sent him to Hell and the being that released him. Castiel should have convinced Dean Winchester that the abomination he calls a brother was lying.

“I tried because I believed at the time that it was true. Dean wouldn't even consider the possibility. It only made him angrier,” Castiel said.

“Thank you for your report, Castiel. We will let you know of your next instructions shortly,” Michael said, dismissing said angel.

Castiel nodded and immediately left the room.

“Sir...” Zachariah started.

Michael didn't let him get any farther. “I have no interest in your excuses, Zachariah. You have jeopardized everything! We cannot expect Dean Winchester to follow our path if he does not trust us!”

“Relax, Michael. This can be salvaged. Once Dean Winchester returns to Hell and we save him, we will regain his trust,” Raphael tried to appease his brother. 

“That is not certain, nor is it probably enough to rely on. Besides, I am not prepared to put that plan back into action until after the demon that sent Sam Winchester to Hell has been taken care of,” Michael said.

“I will get the information, Sir,” Zachariah promised.

“You will do nothing, Zachariah! Not only have you failed to get that information thus far, your impatience may set us back indefinitely,” Michael said with a glare.

“What is your solution, Michael?” Raphael asked.

Michael sighed. “I will need to obtain a temporary vessel and handle it myself.”

“There's no need for such tactics, brother. If you insist on an archangel dealing with the boy, I'll do it. I can get my hands on my true vessel. It will be better than you taking one that will barely suit you for a short period of time.

“With all due respect, Raphael, this is a delicate mission, something you are not good with. I need to find a way to gain Sam Winchester's trust. It seems the only way to regain Dean's,” Michael explained.

“Trust?” Raphael sneered in disgust. “He is an abomination. He is unworthy of your trust. He would be even as just a human.”

“Yes, well, thanks to Zachariah, it is the only option,” Michael said. He glared at Zachariah one final time, silently promising that they would speak on this matter again, before storming out of the room.


	14. Chapter 14

Dean walked into his motel room with breakfast for him and his brother. He found Sam where he usually was when they didn't have a hunt. Doing research on angels. He'd been doing that since Dean had pushed Cas out of their lives. Actually, he was doing that before that, he just hid it from Dean as much as possible, something Dean couldn't really blame him for. “Hey. You wanna give that a rest for a day or two. There's been no sign of Cas or any other angel since I told Cas to get lost anyway.”

“You can't really think that's gonna stop them, can you?” Sam asked.

“Well, no, not if they really want something from us. I'm just saying there's not an urgent need for all this research. You should take a break. Plus, you've got the warding up everyplace we go,” Dean said. Sam had been pretty insistent on putting up those wards. Dean didn't blame either and he didn't try to stop him. Well, not until Sam mentioned putting one on the impala. That was where he drew the line. No one marking up his baby.

“That only protects us inside the room. Look, these people want something from us, you know that, right? And it's more than even just them wanting to know who sent me to Hell and who saved me. The fact that they were interested in getting me out at all is suspicious,” Sam said. Dean now realized that angels couldn't be trusted, but Sam didn't think he took it serious enough.

“Yeah, I know. Like I said a while back, it did seem weird to me. I just didn't really care much why they were doing it. I needed their help in getting you back. I didn't care about what kind of ulterior motives they might have had,” Dean said before sitting down across from his brother. He moved a few of the books to the floor and put the food on the the table.

“I probably would've been the same if I were you,” Sam said as he took the bag that Dean shoved in his direction. He pulled out a breakfast sandwich and a container of fruit. “Look, I just don't think we should turn our backs and pretend that they're gone. They want something and their not gonna give up.”

“Hey, I'm not suggesting we ignore the threat. Given that this Zachariah dude threatened you, I'm sure you're right that they're not giving up. We have to be ready. I'm just saying you should take a little break from the research. I'm not sure how much more research you can even do. Is it even helping?” Dean asked.

“I don't know. It's a little hard to distinguish what's true. A lot of things 'known' about angels are false,” Sam said.

“Yeah, Cas even admitted that. He said angels are God's weapons. There not all about helping humans like culture tries to tell us,” Dean said.

“Yeah, I already figured out that they didn't give much of a damn about human life. One of them threatened to take off my limbs. Anyway, I did read something about some angels maybe having the ability to read human minds,” Sam said.

Dean shuddered at the very thought of that. “That's freaking creepy! These dicks can read our every thoughts? If that's the case, it's good you've been hiding what you have from me. I might not have been able to hide my thoughts from Cas.”

“Well, I don't think a regular angel, like Castiel, would be able to do it. From what I've read, it's upper angels, mainly archangels,” Sam said. Still, it was still a good thing he didn't tell Dean everything. Who knew when he might come into contact with an archangel who could read his thoughts. It would be hard enough for Sam to guard his own thoughts. 

“What the hell's the difference between archangel's and regular ones?” Dean asked.

“A whole lot more power. There are different levels of angels. Compared to what we're used to, they're all powerful as hell, but there are different levels of angels. A regular angel pales in comparison to an upper angel, or what's called a seraph, and a seraph wouldn't hold a candle to an archangel. Archangel's are the most powerful. Their power is probably only rivaled by God.” Sam explained.

Dean swore under his breath. “So basically, if this gets so bad that we come up against archangels, we're basically screwed.”

“Unless we can find a way to kill them if necessary,” Sam said. Loki had told him that there was no way to kill an archangel, but he was still looking. He got the feeling that if he kept screwing with their plays, he was going to come into contact with one very soon. 

“How many archangel's are there?” Dean asked. He wanted to know just how many nearly indestructibly beings they might be up against.

“I'm not sure. That's part of what I was saying about now being sure how much of what I'm reading is actually true. Some lore says there are up to seven or more. I've come to the consensus that there's at least four. Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, and Lucifer,” Sam said. He knew for a fact that Michael and Lucifer were archangels, and the other two were mentioned in every book he'd read, plus he'd pretty much known it from all his time as a child talking with Pastor Jim.

Dean raised an eyebrow. “Lucifer? As in the Devil? Come on, that has to be a myth.”

“We know for a fact that angels exist, but you have a problem believing in the devil? It doesn't matter anyway. He's stuck in Hell. We won't have to worry about him,” Sam said. Well, they didn't right now anyway, and if Sam succeeded, they never would have to

“So there are three of them we might have to worry about,” Dean surmised.

“Yeah. That's why I'm doing all the research.”

“Alright, but we haven't gotten to that point yet. I get why you're worried about them. Chances are that whatever these assholes want, the archangels are at the top of it, but we've got time to deal with it. It's not all gonna be figured out today. I say you take a little break and we get to work,” Dean said.

“You got a job?” Sam asked. He supposed he could use a bit of a distraction. He was a bit sick of worrying about angels twenty-four/seven.

“Yep. A possible demon possession. Pack up, Sammy. It's time to get going,” Dean said with a smirk.

Sam nodded and started getting the books together.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxx

 

A day later, Sam and Dean found themselves in an abandoned warehouse with about four demons. Clearly things had turned bad quick. They'd thought they had one demon on their hands, but before they knew it, they were ambushed by four.

Sam found himself being picked up by the neck by one of the demons. Seconds later, he was set through the air into a wall feet away from him. 

Dean, meanwhile, had his own demons to deal with. He was battling two of them as they came at him. He through a swing at one of them, which the demon ducked before throwing it's own own punch, sending Dean to the ground. 

Sam was picked once again by a demon and roughly pushed against the wall. Then the remaining demon, a woman with long dark hair, came over. “Sammy, long time no see.”

“Who are you?” Sam ground out.”

the demon put her hand against her heart. “I'm hurt. You don't remember your friend, Meg. We shared a body once. It has been a while though, hasn't it? We should really catch up. How was Hell?”

“Why don't you go back and see for yourself?” Sam asked.

Meg chuckled. “You know, your lovely deal screwed things up pretty good.”

“I'm delighted to hear it.”

“But I'm going to fix it. Have you figured out yet that this was setup? We knew the best way to get to you was by giving you something to hunt. It's time to join the dead again, Sammy. Don't worry though, it won't last long,” Meg said as she glanced over at Dean, who was still being kept busy by two demons

Sam would be damned if he let these bastards erase everything he'd been trying to do so easily. If Meg wanted him dead, he was going to make her work for it. He managed to get his hands on holy water in his pocket and managed to splash the demon holding him in the face, causing it to let go. He then got the demon knife out of his pocket and advanced on him.

Meg kicked Sam in the stomach just as he was about to kill the other demon, sending the hunter to the ground in pain.

“Enough!” A loud voice yelled.

Everyone stopped and turned to see a man with blond hair, who was seemingly in his late teens.

Meg, apparently was not fooled by his appearance. “Hell, no,” she said before disappearing. 

The others were apparently not as smart. One went to attack the young man, only making it to about arm's length before the man's hand touched his forehead. The demon screamed in pain as a white light engulfed him. Seconds later, he fell to the floor dead, smoke coming from where his eyes once were.

The man snapped his fingers and the remaining two demons exploded in blood and guts.

“Oh, freaking disgusting!” Dean exclaimed as he immediately stepped away from what was left of the demons.

Meanwhile, the young man approached Sam.

“Hey, get away from my brother!” Dean demanded as he rushed over.

“I mean him no harm, Dean,” the man spoke.

Sam stood up and looked at the man suspiciously. “Who are you?”

“My name's Michael.”


	15. Chapter 15

Michael stood in front of the two Winchester brothers. He'd found it easier than he thought to find a suitable vessel. The Winchesters had a half brother named Adam Milligan. He'd gotten to the boy just as he was about to be killed by ghouls who wanted revenge on John Winchester. They had already killed his mother. Michael got Adam to consent to him by promising to bring his mother back when they were finished. 

Michael had to admit, this vessel fit pretty decently. It wasn't quite the same as having his true vessel, but it would suffice. It would also give him another option if he was unable to take Dean once the apocalypse began. He wasn't worried about that though. It was Destiny for him to have Dean. It would happen. 

Sam stared at Michael carefully, without speaking. He knew chances were high that he'd soon have a run in with an archangel. He even knew that he would likely be meeting Michael some time in the future. But he'd hoped it wouldn't happen this soon, before he was ready to fight him. Right now, he had no hope of fighting a regular angel, let alone the head honcho.

Dean was the first one to speak, though he did so quietly to Sam. “Michael. I don't suppose that name's just a coincidence.”

“You've heard of me,” Michael commented, having heard what Dean had said. 

“When I meet a new creature, I do my research. Yes, we know who you are. You're the highest ranking angel in Heaven. You answer only to God himself,” Sam said.

“You felt the need to research angels? Why?” Michael asked.

“The same reason I research anything else. So that I know what I'm up against,” Sam said with a glare. He made no move to hide his distrust or dislike of this being.

“I am an angel, Sam. Why would you assume I'd wish to harm you?” Michael asked

Dean scoffed. “Really? We should trust you because you're an angel. One of your dick angels threatened my brother!”

“I know,” Michael said before giving Sam his attention once more. “I am here to apologize for Zachariah's... mistake. His threat to you was not sanctioned and I am making sure he understands how displeased I am by his actions. I assure you, nothing like this will happen again.”

“Great. Get the hell out of here,” Sam said. 

“I can't just yet. Sam, Zachariah was overzealous in his attempt to gain information from you, but it doesn't mean we still don't need that information,” Michael said.

“Why do you need it so bad? What the hell do you care about the thing that got Sam out of Hell or the demon who sent him there?” Dean demanded to know.

“Dean, there are very few beings that can walk through Hell and actually pull a soul out. As far as I was aware, only angels, God, and Death have the ability. I know my father hasn't and neither has any angel. And Death wouldn't do such a thing either, as he is neutral. It is very disconcerting to know that there is a being out there I don't know about that could do such a thing,” Michael said. He spoke the absolute truth to the Winchester's in this regard. There was a being out there that could do something it shouldn't be able to. He needed to know what it was. 

“And God forbid there be something out there you don't know about, right?” Sam asked.

“In this case, yes. Knowing what this being is is a necessity because it could be a danger to this planet,” Michael said.

“What do you care about the danger to this planet?” Sam asked as he took a step towards Michael/

“Sam,” Dean called before taking his brother's arm. He didn't want his brother getting too close to this guy. There was no telling what he could do.

“This planet has been in danger as long as we've been alive. Hell, it's been in danger much longer. You haven't lifted a finger to protect it or anyone on it. You haven't given a damn what happened to any of us until now,” Sam said.

“I can see why you would think that, but we cannot intervene every time something bad happens. People die, Sam. It's inevitable,” he Michael told him.

“People getting killed in car accidents, dying of old age, or even getting whacked by psychos is inevitable. Things like vampires, demons, and werewolves are something else entirely. Where the hell are you assholes then?” Dean demanded to know.

“With all due respect, Dean, you have no idea how the world is truly meant to be. You are simply a human. You cannot comprehend what I know,” Michael said somewhat dismissively. 

“Whatever, man. I don't really care what you know. I don't care what reason you have for sitting on your ass and letting the world far apart, but stop insulting us by claiming to care about it now.”

“I'm a little surprised by your anger, Dean. You were more than willing to work with Castiel,” Michael said. 

“Sure, to save Sam. I would've worked with the devil himself to save Sam, so it's really not that big a deal,” Dean said. Of course, he had come to like Cas and think of him as a friend for a while, but he felt no reason to tell Michael that.

“You shouldn't say things like that, Dean,” Michael said with a frown.

“What do you want? Besides what you're not going to get. I'm not telling you a thing,” Sam said firmly.

“Why? Why do you feel you need to protect a demon? I can sort of understand you feeling a desire to protect the identity the being that saved you, but why would you protect a demon?” Michael asked curiously. He honestly couldn't see the logic in hiding that information. What did this hunter fear?

“There's a reason you want that information. You don't just try to pull any soul from Hell. For instance, you didn't lift a finger for Dean. You wanted me out of there for a reason. And you want to go after the demon that sent me there for a reason. What ever that reason is, I feel like it's not as noble as you would like us to think,” Sam said.

“I see. You have no faith in us. I suppose that's something I'll just have to rectify,” Michael said. Technically, he didn't need their trust to get the information. He didn't even need them to verbally tell him. He could pick the information directly from Sam's thoughts. However, that information was only half of what he needed. In order to bring the apocalypse to the forefront, he needed them to trust him. Well, he at least needed Dean to, and it was clear that unless Sam trusted him, Dean wouldn't either.

“Good luck with that one,” Dean said with a snort.

“I'll be in touch, gentlemen,” Michael said before disappearing.

“What the hell?” Dean asked when he was gone. 

“Let's not talk here. We don't know if he's still hanging around,” Sam said before walking towards the door. Dean followed.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxx

 

Less than an hour later, the boys were back in their angel warded motel room. Dean grabbed two beers and brought them over to the table where Sam was already sitting. He handed a beer to Sam and sat down. “What the hell are we gonna do? We've got a freaking archangel on our back now and we don't even really know why.

A part of Sam wanted to tell Dean. He deserved to know, especially now that Michael had made contact, but he worried about the risk of Michael getting to Dean's thoughts. Hell, it was going to be hard enough keeping Sam's own thoughts from the archangel, but adding another person increased the risk. 

“You said archangels are the highest level of angel there is and that they're powerful as hell. The only thing more powerful is God. How the hell are we supposed to fight that?” Dean asked. Monsters were one thing, but these were angels. Cas had once described them as God's soldiers. How did you take out God's soldiers.

“Now you see why I was doing all the research,” Sam said.

“Yeah. I guess I was a bit off when I said it wasn't necessary right this moment,” Dean said before taking a sip of his beer.

“To be fair, I didn't think we'd be faced with them this soon.”

“What do we do? We need more information,” Dean said.

“Yeah. I'm gonna go talk to somebody. I know someone who knows a bit about angels. I need to see him alone though,” Sam said.

“Who? Another hunter?” Dean asked.

“No,” was all Sam said.

“The thing that pulled you out of Hell?” Dean guessed. His only other guess was the demon that tortured him and Sam hated that bastard.

“Yeah. He knows a little bit about angels. He might be able to help,” Sam said.

“I don't know, Sam. Michael seemed concerned about how powerful this thing is. He pretty much said it shouldn't have been able to do what it did. It might not be best to get further involved. Do we really wanna owe this thing any more than we already do?” Dean asked.

“Believe me, Dean, I had the same reaction when he pulled me out. I didn't want to owe him. Look, I don't trust him any further than I can throw him. I can tell he's keeping a lot of secrets. For example, why he pulled me out. But he's the only help we've got right now. We're in over our heads,” Sam said.

“Right. I guess we can't be picky about who we ask for help right now, Though we don't even know why we need help. What the hell do these dicks want?” Dean asked in frustration. Not knowing the whole story was the worst part. In order to fight this, they needed to know what they were up against.

“I'm gonna go see what I can find out. I'll be back as soon as I can,” Sam said before standing up.

“You have a way to kill this thing if you have to?” Dean asked.

“I know how to kill him, but trust me, it won't be necessary,” Sam said before grabbing his coat and heading out of the room.


	16. Chapter 16

Sam was laying in bed with Loki about an hour after he arrived.  The Trickster had moved in on him seconds after transferring him to his place.  Sam didn’t protest.  The Michael situation wasn’t dire yet.  It could wait until they were through. 

“Fabulous as always, kiddo.  You know, I’m glad you called when you did.  If you hadn’t, I just may have had to kidnap you to have my way with you,” Gabriel said with a grin.

“Not sure I would’ve complained,” Sam said.  He had to give Loki his dues.  He was damn good in bed. 

“So you ready for round two?” Gabriel asked as he rolled on top of the hunter.

Sam wondered if it was bad that he actually considered it for a minute.  He could go another round or two at least.  However, they did need to get down to business.  Figuring out what to do about Michael was important.  Plus, if he didn’t get back soon, Dean would have a fit.  “We had a run in with the archangel, Michael.”

“You sure know how to kill the mood,” Gabriel said as he rolled back over.  There was nothing worse than your partner bringing up your brother when you were about to have sex.  That wasn’t even taking into consideration the gravity of the situation.  “Why the hell didn’t you mention that when you got here.”

Sam laughed.  “It’s not like you gave me much time for that.  You jumped me the minute I got here.  Did you really think I came just for sex?”

“Yeah,” Gabriel said as if it were a stupid question.

“Well, I didn’t,” Sam said.

“What happened?” Gabriel asked. 

“He saved us from some demons who were trying to kill me.  They wanted to put the apocalypse back on the table,” Sam said.

“What did he want?” Gabriel asked. 

“Crowley’s name, yours as well.  He wanted to know what kind of being could remove a soul from Hell, and obviously, he wants to punish Crowley for making a deal with me,” Sam explained. 

“I can’t believe he came himself,” Gabriel said.  Michael didn’t do anything himself unless it was dire.  He had thousands of angels to do everything for him. 

“He tried, but they failed.  One of them threatening me was Dean’s last straw,” Sam said.

Gabriel nodded.  Yeah, that would be considered dire for Michael.  With Dean no longer trusting angels, the apocalypse would be in serious jeopardy, even if they managed to kill Sam all over again and have Dean break the first seal.  To get what they wanted, they still needed the hunter’s trust. 

“Question.  Shouldn’t they know that a trickster can pull a soul out of Hell?” Sam asked a bit suspiciously.  A flag sort of went up when Michael spoke about not knowing another creature that could bring a soul back.

“Not all tricksters can.  Remember, I’m not a regular trickster,” Gabriel said.

“Right, you’re a pagan god, but wouldn’t’ they know that a pagan god could do it too?” Sam asked.

“They may want to think they know everything about every being in the world, but they don’t.  No one, including angels, has ever had the desire to retrieve a soul from Hell before,” Gabriel said.  He wasn’t lying.  He was certainly evading subtlety, but everything he was saying was the truth.

“So there’s no reason for them to think you could do it,” Sam deduced.

Gabriel nodded and stood up.  He grabbed his robe from the chair nearby.  He quickly put it on.  “I don’t need to tell you how dangerous Michael is, do I Sam?”

“No.  That’s why I’m here.  I need to know how to stop him,” Sam  said as he got up and began getting dressed. 

“The problem is that I’m not sure you can.  You certainly can’t kill him.  There are very few beings on this planet that have the power to take on something like him,” Gabriel said seriously. 

“Well, I’m not giving up.  I’m not about to step back and hand two quarreling archangels the world.  And I’m certainly not going to let the devil literally under my skin,” Sam said firmly.

“I’m not suggesting that.  I’m just saying you won’t find this easy, and you may just fail,” Gabriel said.  He certainly didn’t want him to fail.  He didn’t want to see the world destroyed by his brothers, nor did he want to see Sam destroyed by Lucifer.  He just wanted Sam to see things for how they were. 

“Well, I don’t intend to take him right now.  I know right now I’d lose.  What I want is protect the information I have.  I can’t let him find out about Crowley.  If he finds Crowley, he will get out of him everything Crowley told me.  I know Michael can hear my thoughts  If he were to do so, he could not only get ahold of the information about Crowley, but he could find out everything Crowley told me just by looking in my mind.  In fact, I’m surprised he didn’t just listen to them tonight?” he asked.

“It’s because it’s not just names he needs.  He needs you to trust him.  That’s his real endgame.  The names are just part of it,” Gabriel said. 

“You seem sure about that.  You seem sure about everything you say about Michael.  Have you met him?” Sam asked as he began buttoning up his shirt. 

“Once or twice.  I know enough to know what he’s like and how he thinks,” Gabriel said.

“Well, even if you’re right, there’s still a chance he could try to read my mind.  Is there any way for me to safeguard it?” Sam asked.

“No, not without actually destroying your memories.  I can only assume you don’t want that,” Gabriel said.

Sam shook his head.  “If I forget about it, it means I fall right back in line.  I can’t let that happen.”

“So you’re just going to have to try to avoid him, and if you can’t, hope he doesn’t read your mind,” Gabriel said.

“There is something I can do to help you avoid him though,” Gabriel said. 

“What is it?” Sam asked.

“I can hide you from him,” Gabriel said.  He was very reluctant to do this.  When Michael realized Sam and Dean was hidden from him, he’d know that an angel was working with them.  Gabriel didn’t want the attention that it might bring, but he also didn’t want the alternative

“Okay, do it,” Sam said.

“I’ll be carving something into your ribs.  It’ll burn for a minute.  I’ll need your brother too.  It’s no help if Michael can still find him,” Gabriel said. 

“I’ll have to talk him into it.  Just do it to me now,” Sam said.  He didn’t exactly like this idea, nor did he really trust Loki much, but he had to do what he could to stop Michael.

Gabriel walked over and placed his hand on the hunter’s stomach. 

Sam felt a tiny burn and then it went away.  “What exactly did you put there?”

“It’s like the protection sigil you put on your room, only it protects you personally from angels.  Oh, and one other difference.  It stops angels from finding you, but it won’t protect you if they find you,” Gabriel warned.

“Thanks.  Okay, send me back.  Dean’s probably going crazy by now.  Plus, I need to get him to agree to what you just did to me,” Sam said.

“One more thing.  Now that Michael has taken a personal interest, praying to me might not be the best idea.  He can hear no matter who  you pray to,” Gabriel said before snapping his fingers.  A piece of paper with a phone number appeared in his hand.  He immediately handed it to Sam.  “Call when you need me.”

Sam nodded.  “Alright, send me back.”

Gabriel snapped his fingers and Sam disappeared. 


End file.
